All Those Glittering Lights
by sincerelysabrina
Summary: Meet the exes: Austin and Ally. He left her for fame but she fought back, and five years later, they're both famous. Simply put, they don't like each other. Now, with fame and fortune and success, they're being forced to work with each other. 5: "Were there any males that ever trained you?" "Yeah, why?" "Did you get background checks on them, 'case you never know who-" "Oh my god!"
1. Chapter 1

Monday mornings are awful. They're like my personal hell. Every time something bad happened to me, it was on a Monday. I lost my songwriting book on a Monday, I had to deal with kangaroos and other chaos on a Monday, I broke my favorite cup on a Monday, my boyfriend broke up with me on a Monday, the list just goes on and on.

So, the morning of April 15th, 2019, had always been set to be hell for me— it was a Monday morning, after all.

I woke up late by half an hour, so I had to hurry with everything. As a result, my hair got hastily put into a messy bun, I threw on a simple skirt-and-top combo picked in the heat of the moment, and I lost a contact lense. I wear nighttime contact lenses, that I take out in the morning, and then my eyesight is perfect**(1)**. Of course, these contacts aren't one-time use, so I spent an extra minute looking for the lense.

Then, while I was eating my hurried breakfast (which consisted of cup of YoCrunch**(2)** yogurt, a pickle, and a can of Nestea**(3)**), my manager/best friend called and told me that she had arranged a meeting with a prospective collaborator for my new album, Better Than Ever. I was supposed to be at the private VIP room at The Lounge in ten minutes.

Quick geography/math lesson: I lived about twenty minutes away from The Lounge. I was supposed to be at The Lounge in ten minutes. In conclusion, I was very, very late.

Can somebody say, _oh, shit_?

* * *

><p>On my way to The Lounge, Trish called.<p>

"Ally, hurry up; you're going to be late!" she cried.

"I know, I know, sorry! Oh, I'm going to make such a bad first impression on the collaborator!" I panicked, letting a swear loose as someone beeped at me.

"Yeah, 'cause it's definitely your first time seeing each other, duh! Why would you think otherwise?"

"Trish..." I let out a sigh. "What did you do?"

"Well..."

"Trish!"

"Gotta go; bye!"

"Trish!"_ -beeeeep-_ "Damn it!" 

* * *

><p>Austin Moon was not a happy camper on the morning of April 15th, 2019. First of all, his managerbest friend had called to tell him that he had arranged a meeting with a prospective collaborator for his new album, Loud and Proud. Austin was supposed to be at the private VIP room at The Lounge in twenty minutes.

Quick geography/math lesson: Austin lived about fifteen minutes away from The Lounge. He was supposed to be at The Lounge in twenty minutes. In conclusion, he did not have time to get his daily coffee fix at Angela's Café. And an Austin without coffee is a very cranky Austin, indeed.

So, when he arrived at The Lounge, he was extremely irritated as Dez informed him the collaborator would be late.

"Late. Late? Are you serious? He gets to be late, but I can't?" complained Austin.

Dez shrugged. "Heh, what can you do? You know what I mean? Whatever, oh well."

"Dez? Are you okay?" Austin peered concernedly at him.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine! Just a little tired's all," assured Dez.

"Dez, you were never any good at lying."

"What makes you think that I'm lying?"

"Your nostrils flare when you lie**(4)**."

"What? No they don't!" Dez watched himself carefully in the mirror as his nostrils flared. "No way, they really do! That's so cool! Austin, do yours do that too?"

"Don't change the subject. Dez, what are you so nervous about?" Austin looked at him suspiciously.

Fortunately for Dez, the collaborator arrived just then.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a late morning and I was caught up in traffic—" Ally stopped short. "A-Austin? Dez?"

"Ally, wait up—! Oh," said Trish quietly, upon entering the room. "Um... Ally, this is Mr. Moon, our new, prospective collaborator!"

"I know who he is, Trish!" snapped Ally. "Is this what you were so nervous about?"

"Ally? And... Trish?" Austin gaped at the two of them. "Dez!" He turned to his best friend/manager.

"Well... our collaborator isn't a _he_; heh heh!" Dez laughed nervously.

"Is this what you were so nervous about?" Austin repeated Ally's earlier question.

Meekly, the two best friend/managers glanced at each other, bowed their heads, and replied in unison, "Yes...?"

"Trish. Can I talk to you for a second?" Ally grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her outside.

Meanwhile, Austin crossed his arms over his chest and glared pointedly at Dez. "Well? You wanna tell me why Ally is my new collaborator and you didn't tell me?"

"Um... Trish and I thought it would be a good idea! You two are both at the top of the charts, and a collaboration would shoot you off the charts!" Dez started to slip into manager mode. "Right now, you've become old news, Austin! People still love you, but you've gotta do something new so they'll pay attention to you, more than they do to the new star-of-three-years— Ally Dawson. And she needs an extra boost to her already-booming career, so it all fits perfectly."

As much as Austin hated to admit it, Dez was right. But he would only do it if she agreed to do it first, and he told Dez so accordingly, to which the ginger replied with,

"Real mature, Austin."

"You're one to talk."

"Oooh, ouch! But so true."

"Yeah, I know." 

* * *

><p>I stood outside the door of the VIP room of The Lounge, fuming at Trish. She knew about my bad history with Austin— hell, she had been part of that history!<p>

"Look, Ally, before you say anything, just hear me out, okay?" Trish held up her hands, pleading.

Narrowing my eyes, I nodded. She deserved that much, at least. "Explain," I said tightly. "You have five minutes."

"Dez and I thought it would be a good idea to do a collaboration with you two. You're still fairly new to the music scene, and a collaboration with Austin would boost your career by far. Plus, Austin's got experience with dealing with fame, and that's experience you need!" exclaimed Trish.

What? So I might've been a little careless with my words about my last ex (Logan Freeman— who is, by the way, a cheating bastard) to the papparazzi at my last red-carpet event, and now it's all over the news, but that doesn't mean I need Austin's help!

"Ally!" Trish prodded me.

Sighing, I told her, "Fine." As she reached for the door handle, I added, "Trish?"

"Hm?"

"You _so_ owe me for this." 

* * *

><p>"Let's go on with the meeting as planned," said Ally stiffly, once they were back in the VIP room.<p>

"So, are we all up for a little collaboration talk?" Dez smiled brightly at them.

Trish snorted. "Collaboration talk? Dez, that's the lamest thing I've ever heard of."

"Nuh-uh!" Dez scoffed and turned his head away haughtily. "You're just jealous! Austin, isn't she just jealous?" He pinned the blonde down with a righteous glare.

Austin looked indecisive. Hm, have Trish get mad at him for saying she was jealous, have Dez get made at him for saying she wasn't jealous, or don't give a definite answer at all? He held up his hands in defense. "Don't look at me!" he exclaimed. Don't give a definite answer at all was definitely the best choice.

"Trish has convinced me," began Ally, interupting them sternly, "that the collaboration would be a... good idea." She scrunched up her face, as if the words had left a sour taste in her mouth. "So, by the end of today, I hope to have a plan to take to my people, and by tomorrow night, everything should be in a contract."

Dez spoke up, already in manager-mode. "Alright, first of all, that's a little optimistic. Planning out collaborations usually takes weeks, if not more. There's legal issues, artist issues, money issues— too many issues to count. Second of all, why are you talking so formally? We're all friends here." He smiled obliviously.

Ally glared. "No. We are _absolutely_ _not_ all friends here. Dez, I'm willing to start over with you, because I know that when Austin left, you had no choice but to go with him as his best friend. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to start over with Austin. Actually, it's much too late for that now." Gingerly, she sat down on one of the leather couches. Crossing her legs and placing her hands delicately in her lap, she said, "Let's start talking." 

* * *

><p>An hour later, Ally had snapped at Dez four times, glared at Trish three times, and ignored Austin the whole entire time. A frustrated and quickly despairing Trish called for a five-minute break. Ally had excused herself to get a drink downstairs, so it was just Trish, Dez, and Austin left staring awkwardly at each other in the VIP room.<p>

"So..." Dez trailed off, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Yup..." Trish fidgeted with her hands.

Austin rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go get a drink. You two can stare at each other in an awkward silence for ten more minutes." And with that, he left, the door swinging after him.

"Wait! I only called for a five-minute break!" Trish called helplessly after him. Defeated, she dropped her hands back down, sighing. "Well, I guess that means we're going to have a ten-minute break, then." 

* * *

><p>I left the VIP room to escape from Austin, but if my eyes aren't decieving me— which I'm pretty sure they're not, because I just got an eye exam two weeks ago—, he's walking down the same staircase I was on a minute ago. Quickly, to avoid eye contact, I twirled myself around on my swivel stool so that I faced the bar and the bartender. "Can I have a Shirley Temple, please?" I asked, trying to look busy so that Austin wouldn't come over.<p>

"Yo, bartender. Champagne; your best."

Damn. He found me.

"Coming right up, miss and sir." The bartender turned around and began making the drinks. A few moments later, he slid our drinks across the polished, marble countertop to us. I stared away from Austin into the opposite direction. Hopefully, if I just ignored him, Austin would take the hint and leave. Or at least leave me alone.

"Wow." He slipped my glass out of my fingers. "A Shirley Temple?"

So, ignoring him wouldn't work...

"I don't drink," I replied. "Now get out of my face." Maybe I needed to be more blunt...?

"You don't drink," Austin repeated, ignoring my last statement. I shook my head no, and Austin let out a short bark of laughter. "Ally, you've gotta be able to drink. I'm not saying you have to drink at every party, but there are occasions where even you have to lift up a glass of champagne and toast. C'mon, you have to be able to hold your liquor, at least."

"Don't tell me what to do," I snipped.

"You need my help— ah-uh!" He wagged his finger at me reprimandingly when I opened my mouth to retort. "I hear about what happened with Logan Freeman," he continued, smirking as I grimaced. "That had 'bad press' written all over it. I can't believe you said all those things about him on camera."

I winced, remembering that night, not-too-long-ago. Actually, if I remember correctly, I believe the incident happen a little over two weeks ago...

_I smiled and posed, stopping for a moment so that the cameras could flash their bright lights at me and take a picture— which was, no doubt, going to be on the cover of some magazie or the other by tomorrow. When I figured I had been stationary for a sufficient amount of time, I pivoted on my heel and kept my slow, model-walk down the red carpet. Posters and banners all along the walls of the theater announced the premier of Project X. I'd heard from a friend of mine who was a movie producer that Project X was an awful movie— he said that he had looked over the story outline and politely declined the invitation to be the producer. Unfortunately, my duty as Ally Dawson, singer-songwriter extraordinaire, top of the charts, required me to be present at at least five or six big premiers a month, and this was one of them._

_When I neared the entrance to the theater, I braced myself for more pictures— that was standard; I wasn't even bothered by being under such close scrutiny anymore— and questions about my ex-boyfriend-of-two-days, Logan Freeman. The truth of it was, we were over long before the general public knew about it. He had cheated on me, I ended the relationship. End of story— easy, smooth, and simple. But of course, the rest of the world wants drama, so if it's drama they want, then it's drama they'll get._

_"Ally! Ally!" called the reporters. I pivoted to face them— well, perhaps pivoted wasn't the right word, seeing as how I was in sky-high Jimmy Choos. "We want to know about your breakup!" they called. "What happened? Why did you break up?"_

_I dropped my camera-ready, model-worthy (model-worthy, except for the fact that I was so short) smile and instead, the corners of my lips lifted up to shape a sly, all-hell-will-break-loose-when-I-say-this-and-I-know-it kind of smile. Loudly and clearly, I said, "Logan Freeman is a cheating bastard. The kid thought he could go to a Russian stripper during the day then come back to me at night, and he thought he could do it without repercussions. Well, I gotta say, I'm sorry, sweetheart, 'cause repercussions are best served publically and humiliatingly." What? So it was a little cheesy; the papparazzi loved it!_

_As the papparazzi snapped more pictures, I caught sight of Logan's dark hair and characteristic golden eyes. He was staring intently at me, although his stare was more of a cross between a hungry, lustful gaze and an angry, ready-to-set-the-world-on-fire glare. The lustful part was probably— no, it was most definitely because of my dress. The angry part? Well, I'd bet my career that he had heard what I told the papparazzi about him. But at the moment, he couldn't do anything, because Sissy LeBlanc (the girl he cheated on me with— okay, so maybe I was stretching the truth a little when I said he was cheating on me with a Russian stripper. Sissy LeBlanc— worst name ever, I'm not sorry to say— is actually a French model.) had latched her little claws onto him and was currently dragging him away._

Ah, good memories, I thought. Trash-talking Logan was fun.

"Fun?" spluttered Austin. Evidently, I had said that aloud. "You call that fun?" He shook his head admiringly. "You've changed a lot, haven't you, Ally?"

I made a noncomittable sound and sipped my Shirley Temple. The sooner this conversation was over, the better.

Austin's eyes were intent on my glass. "I still can't believe you're twenty-three, a celebrity, and yet you still don't drink. It's not a bad thing, but people will look down on you for it. Which is why," he smirked, "you need my help."

"What, so now you're saying that you drink beer and knock back shots every night?" I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yeah, right."

"Actually? I'm kind of girly when it comes to drinks," he admitted. A lot has changed about Austin, but his open honesty with his true friends hadn't faded away, and that made me happy, for some reason. "I only drink champagne, wine, cocktails, and, like, that hard-lemonade-slash-beer stuff." He smirked at me, again. "Not that you would know how any of that tastes like. A little birdie told me that Rihanna is hosting a party where drinks are law, and we're both invited. Now do you want my help?" He leaned back against the table, smug.

Suddenly, a cold fury took over my emotions. I may have been civil towards him for— I flicked my eyes over to the clock and almost choked when I saw what time it was— almost half and hour, but that didn't make things between us any different. How dare he try to mentor me. He doesn't know anything about me. With those thoughts in mind, I set my glass back down on the countertop and slipped off the barstool. Austin made to follow me, but I held up a hand, signaling him to stop. I walked closer until we were chest-to-chest (thank god I was wearing my five-inch pumps today— this way, I could make eye-contact without looking like an idiot) and bit out, "You don't know what you're talking about. You have no idea what I went through after you left. If it came to it, Austin Moon, I could probably hold my liquor longer than you, so don't assume anything about me. You don't know me anymore." I sneered in his face, then turned and made my way up the staircase and back to the VIP room. Dramatic exit, check. 

* * *

><p>Austin stared after Ally's slightly-swaying hips with something like awe in his eyes. His smile took up a kind of admiring curve. Ally had come a long way since the stuttering, I-mix-up-my-words-in-front-of-cute-boys girl she was at sixteen. As she disappeared behind the doors of an elevator (probably headed back to the VIP room), Austin thought about her last words to him. They hurt him more than she knew, but that was good. It meant that Ally was stronger now— strong enough to maybe start a relationship with him. Perhaps they could rekindle their fire. Then, as he considered the conversation they just had, he thought that maybe the fire had never died out. With that thought in mind, he started to make his way back up to the VIP room. <p>

* * *

><p>"... Uh, no! Mushrooms are just stupid."<p>

"Nuh-uh! Pepporoni is just gross."

"Well, mushrooms are—"

Ally cut the arguing pair (Trish and Dez) off with a, "Guys! Are you done yet?" She looked at them expectantly.

"Oh, um, yeah." Trish offered the other brunette a sheepish smile. "Dez was just being silly."

"Me?" Dez pointed to himself, outraged.

"Yeah, you," Trish fired back.

Ally face-palmed. There was no way they could agree on a plan in five hours. Not with this group. 

* * *

><p>When Austin returned to the VIP room, he was not expecting a furiously-arguing Trish and Dez, or a defeated Ally. On second thought, the arguing part wasn't so strange. A defeated Ally, though... That was weird. She seemed more like an I-will-succeed-or-die-trying type of person.<p>

"Hey." Austin sat down on the couch next to Ally.

"Hi," she replied, her tone implying exhaustion. "Nice of you to show up. It's been," she checked the clock, "two hours since I left you down there in the bar. Where have you been?"

"Well... I got a little distracted." Austin showed her a slip of paper with several phone numbers on it.

Ally rolled her eyes knowingly. "And the player is back in the game." She paused and stared at his cheek, then raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you did a little more than get a couple of numbers." She pointed to his cheek, where a bright red lipstick print was clearly visible.

Austin shrugged. "I may or may not have made out with a hot chick." He grinned and winked. "Can't deny the ladies."

Ally rolled her eyes again, letting out a soft sigh. "'Course not. You were always the ladies' man, weren't you?" There was a hint of bitterness to her tone. However, Austin, oblivious as ever, didn't take notice of it.

He simply pointed to Trish and Dez and asked, "So, what's up with them?"

Ally groaned. "I have no idea." She surveyed the VIP room morosely. "One of us is going to end up at the bottom of a cliff by the end of this collaboration."

Austin snorted. "One of us is going to end up at the bottom of a cliff by the end of today." Shaking his head, he turned to face Ally. "On three?" He pointed to two guitars that were plugged into amps in the corner of the room— why they were there, he had absolutely no idea.

Without having to ask what he was talking about— they were so well attuned to each other from the many years of best friendship  
>—, Ally nodded and picked up a guitar. "On three. One."<p>

Austin grinned, picking up the other guitar. "Two."

In unison, they said, "Three." Then two jarringly discordant chords (not really— all they did was strike the strings of the guitar without actually playing any real chords) flooded the room as Austin and Ally struck the strings of their guitars.

Trish and Dez clapped their hands over their ears, not putting them down until Austin and Ally turned the amplifiers off.

"What was that for?" exclaimed Trish indignantly.

"Getting you to stop arguing," replied Ally coolly.

"And getting you to slip into manager mode," added Austin. Bringing his hands together in front of him, he said, "So, are we ready to talk collaboration?" 

* * *

><p>About two hours later, they were all asleep, exhausted and collasped on top of each other. Dez was hanging half-off the couch, and Trish was splayed across the rest of the couch. Austin and Ally, however, were in each other's arms, in a position that they hadn't been in since they were eighteen— young, happy, and... together. Ally was leaning against Austin, snugggled into his chest, her head tucked under his chin. Austin was leaning against the couch, his arms wound loosely around Ally's waist.<p>

Suddenly, Ally's iPhone rang, startling everyone awake. Blearily, Ally rubbed at her eyes, then realized the position she was in, and scrambled to stand up. Her phone was still ringing as Austin muttered an awkward, "Er... Sorry about that. I, um, didn't notice I was... kind of holding you— hey, you should probably get that." He pointed to her phone.

Still slightly shaken about the position she had woken up in, Ally only nodded meekly. "Hello?" She answered the phone. "Oh, hi, Alec!" She seemed to light up as she chattered on to whoever "Alec" was.

"Who's Alec?" mouthed Austin.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's just Alec Roulanger. Ally's 'friend'." She put finger-quotes around the word "friend". She leaned in and whispered, "Honestly? I think they're just the next cutest couple-to-be, but Ally insists they're 'just friends'." She laughed. "Oh, Ally. That silly girl, she thinks I'm not going to meddle in her relationship with Alec!"

"Wait." Dez held up a finger. "Alec Roulanger, as in the French-American actor? The one that moved here five years ago?"

Trish nodded. Neither of them mentioned what happened five years ago, and an awkward silence filled the air, only broken by the sound of Ally's rapid-fire chatter. Clearing her throat, Trish said, "He just started working in big movies three years ago and he's been the male lead in, like, the top 5 biggest movies of the season. He's another rising star, like Ally." She smiled proudly at the last statement.

"Wait, I'm confused." Dez scratched his head. "Did we finish planning the collaboration or not?"

Rolling her eyes amusedly, Trish handed him a file. "Yeah, we finished. And don't look so surprised; this is how we do things. We're fast." She pointed to the file. "Bring it to your people and have them draft a contract. We'll meet again; tomorrow, the same time to exchange contracts and draft a final plan, then we can go to dinner with our people and get everything finalized. The contract should be ready to sign by Wednesday morning."

Austin stuck his hands in his pockets, watching as Ally picked up her bag and started towards the door, still on the phone. Without breaking his gaze on her, he asked, "Where is she going?"

Trish shrugged. "Probably to meet Alec. I, on the other hand, have an official date, so I'll be going now." She smirked and blew them both a kiss as she left. "Ta ta, boys!"

"Who's she going out with?" Dez was suddenly interested to know.

Austin shrugged. "What's up with that Alec guy?"

"Why are we answering questions with questions?"

"I have no idea."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank the lord. Seriously. You have no idea how long I've been working on this. I won't ramble on like I normally do, but there are important updates and even juicier GOSSIP on Austin & Ally on my blog, under the post ROSS LYNCH? SAY WHAT? You can access my blog/Wordpress through my profile page.**

**Anyways... (1) These contacts do exist, in fact, I use them myself. (2) YoCrunch does not belong to me. No copyright infringement intended. (3) Nestea does not belong to me. No copyright infringment intended. (4) Sorry kids, I just had to include that. That's from the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.**

**Also, if you were confused by the POV's throughout the story, just remember this:**

**Normal POV: Third person writing.**  
><strong>Character POV (Ally's POV, etc.): First person writing. You'll be able to tell exactly which character's POV it is, I promise.<strong>

**See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!**  
><strong>~ Sabrina<strong>

**P.S. Just kidding.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize and some things you do. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Copyright 2012 Multi-talented Girl.**

* * *

><p>Ally was having a nice dream (rose-tinted perspective and everything) when an insistent banging on her door woke her up. She groaned and slipped out of bed, rubbing at her eyes as she padded down the hallway to the door. She opened the door, still half-asleep, to Trish and Dez both jabbing at their smartphones while chattering into their Bluetooth headsets. Austin was behind them, looking rumpled and sleepy, as if he had just woken up from bed.<p>

Trish and Dez both barged in like they owned the place and settled themselves at the kitchen island/countertop. Trish poured herself and Dez some coffee while yelling at some tabloid reporter (threatening him with the full force of Ally Dawson's lawyers— and a very impressive group they were—, all the while asking Austin if he would like some coffee).

Austin leaned against the island, yawning (and refusing Trish's offer of coffee— _I don't drink coffee, it's too bitter_). He propped his arm up and leaned his head against his cradled hand, making as if to go back to sleep. Ally flinched as memories came flooding back to her— how Austin used fall asleep in the practice room like that, with herself tucked into his chest, how Austin used to wake up from naps (or when they pulled all-nighters) with his hair sticking up like that, and how he always had the most adorable expression while sleeping. She shook herself out of her daze quickly, narrowing her eyes at the odd group gathered in her kitchen.

Pouring herself a cup of freshly brewed iced tea from Teavana**(1)**, she asked peevishly, "What are you all doing here?"

Austin blinked sleepily at her. "Something about... reporters... news leaking out... tired... sleep..." His head thunked down onto the countertop, promptly falling asleep again.

Smiling unwittingly, Ally remembered the bad habit they both shared: a chronic case of late-birdiness. She reprimanded herself sharply for thinking about the past, and turned her glare onto Trish and Dez. "So?" she demanded. "What's going on?"

"Turn on the TV," Trish replied simply.

Confused but wanting to know what was going on, Ally led the group to the spacious living room and turned the giant flatscreen TV on (being a star has its perks). It was set to the Discovery Channel, something that Austin snorted at (and then proceeded to fall asleep again). Ally blushed hotly then remembered that she didn't care what Austin thought— and she really didn't. They had been through all the extremeties in life— up and down and even left and right. He had seen her at her best and her worst, and vice versa. Ally sighed, for the third time that day reminding herself that the past was the past.

"Turn it to TMZ or something," said Trish.

"Or just any channel with reputable gossip," added Dez distractedly, eyes focused on Austin. He prodded the sleeping blonde carefully, then when he got no response, not-so-carefully.

"Ow, what? I was having a nice dream!" whined Austin, sitting up on the couch and rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah, what is this, anyway? Why are we watching TV when you could be explaining?" asked Ally, exasperated.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Don't you want to know why we dragged you out of bed at five in the morning?"

"Well, yeah, but—_ five in the morning_?" they exclaimed in unison.

"Yes. It's not that early." Dez shrugged.

"Easy for you to say, you're kind of a halfway insomniac; you're fine with staying out to party until three in the morning," grumbled Austin.

"You're going to die an early death from smoking, drinking, and doing drugs," Ally informed him icily.

Austin turned on her. "Just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean that I'm going to die from not being on your leash all the time. And if you think that I would do those kinds of things, then you really never knew me at all."

Ally scoffed. "I figured that out a long time ago."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" exclaimed Dez, "This is a little too much drama for me, especially at five in the morning. Now why don't we just sit down, Austin and Ally— _far, far away_ from each other— and watch the celebrity news."

Without a word, the blonde and the brunette arranged themselves at direct opposites on the couch. No one said a word for a few moments, then they both reached for the remote at the same time, flinching as they came into contact with each other. Austin slowly drew back, eyes locked on Ally's as he laid languidly across the couch. He made a motion, like _go ahead_.

Letting out a barely-audible "hmph", Ally turned the channel to TMZ.

And promptly proceeded to stare, bug-eyed, as the anchorperson started to talk about her and Austin's collaboration.

"Wha— how— we haven't even confirmed the collaboration yet!" exclaimed Austin.

Ally groaned. "How did this get leaked? I thought no one knew about the collaboration except for us!"

Trish shook her head grimly. "Ally, of course people knew about this. I had Justin and Maya draft up a contract, Jess to copy it, and Johnny was supposed to prepare to present the news in a couple of weeks."

"We had people working on it as well," added Dez. "There are tons of people who could leak this story to the press, but none of our people would do it."

"Neither would ours," Trish cut in sharply.

"Of course not." Dez conceded. Turning to Ally, he informed her that everything that could be done to keep the story contained and harmless was already done.

"Contained and harmless. _Contained and harmless?_ Dez, this is all over the celeb news, gossip, and tabloid sites, not to mention the magazines!" Ally exploded.

Austin sighed, thrusting both hands in his hair. "So... what do we do now?"

"Well, I was thinking we could announce the collab at a big event, as if we had planned it all along," began Trish, while at the same time Calum said,

"We'll wait for it to all blow over and then annouce it at a nice, quiet, professional press conference."

Immediately, they turned on each other, staring the other down.

"If we wait for it to blow over, we'll lose all the spectacularity and excitement we have now," explained Trish.

"If we announce it now, it'll seem rushed, and everyone will know we didn't mean for the collaboration to be leaked," argued Dez.

"But don't you see? We need to dramaticize it, we need to be at the center of attention, because that's what people would expect for the unveiling of a collaboration," Trish snapped back.

Dez glared. "It was always about you, wasn't it? You just want to be the diva again, you want the world to revolve around you. I bet you don't even care about what's good for Ally; you just want more attention."

"And how would you know that?" Trish scofffed. "I have worked my ass off for Ally ever since the breakup, and look at us now. How do you think all of _this_" she opened her arms wide to indicate the luxurious suite, "happened without me?"

"How would I know? Well, let's see, how would I know that you always want more, more, _more_ attention? I know because I was treated the same way during our relationship. It was always about you. Trish, Trish, Trish, if it wasn't about you, you couldn't be happy! I was always second-best, second most important next to yourself." He sneered. "Don't talk to me about hard work, Trish. You know how many dreams I gave up so that Austin could have his? So that I could manage his career because _you_ weren't there? No, you don't know. Five times I was asked to direct a movie, six times to produce. And you know who else was up for those directing spots? Famed directors, amazing directors that I couldn't compare to, but somehow the producers thought I could. But I gave my dreams up, Trish, because I'm not selfish. I'm not like you. Never like you." He breathed deeply, turning away.

Trish stood gaping at his back, completely shocked, but also angered. "You think I'm selfish?" She laughed disbelievingly. "I gave up my dreams, too. Before I knew Austin and became his manager, I wanted to be a fashion designer. During all of my unsucessful jobs, I would be sketching new ideas for clothes, bags, shoes, everything. I was good at it, too, but I gave it all up for Ally. She said, 'I want to beat Austin. I want to be a bigger star than him, I want to soar above him, I want to be so far ahead of him that he can eat my dust.' And I said okay. Because she's my best friend, and when she was hurt, I was there to pick her up. You have _no right_ to call me selfish." She breathed deeply as he had done, and turned away.

Ally stood slowly, heart hurting for all the harm that she had unknowingly done to Trish, while Austin sat, eyes wide in shock as to how much pain he had unknowingly caused Dez.

"Well, I think we should all calm down," began Ally, voice quivering, cursing at herself for letting that old habit get the best of her again. "and then maybe we can compromise. I know there's a lot we need to talk about, but right now our main priority is the leak, right?"

Slowly, grudgingly, the two managers turned back around and nodded.

Ally breathed a sigh of relief, then clicked into control-freak mode, as she always did when she was stressed. "First, Dez and I will go out, grab some coffee, and blow off some steam. While we're doing that, Trish and Austin should grab a bite to eat and talk. We should all be with a member of the opposing team."

Austin spoke up for the first time since Dez and Trish's argument began. "Ally, you're making us sound like we're playing football or something."

"But I don't like football..." Ally trailed off as she realized she was being weird and literal again, as Old Ally would have done. New Ally was confident and beautiful, she told herself. "What I mean to say is, would it hurt you to be serious for two minutes, Austin?"

He rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is that this should just be a casual hang-out, not some kind of a military debrief."

"Fine," Ally replied tightly.

"Fine," Austin returned peevishly, as he didn't expect her to agree so easily.

"Let's go then," urged Trish, grabbing Austin by the arm.

"Yeah, let's," sighed Ally, taking Dez's arm. "C'mon, buddy." 

* * *

><p>"Panera Bread good for you?" Austin asked softly to a silently steaming Trish.<p>

"Yup," she replied tightly.

"Hey," he said gently as he opened the door to Panera, "don't take it too hard on Dez. Both of you have been the best managers ever, and I had no idea you two gave up so much for us. If anything, it's me you should be mad at, not Dez."

Trish scoffed, ordering a bowl of soup. "Honey, I'm _always_ mad at Dez."

Austin grinned, "Nothin' I can say to that," and ordered some bakery treats along with a bowl of soup. As they waited for their Panera-issued pagers to beep (signifying that their orders were ready), he didn't feel awkward as he thought he would. It may have been a few years since he had seen Trish, but the two of them were so similar sometimes that it didn't take long to slip back into the best friendship they had. "About Dez..." he started.

Trish held up a hand to stop him. "I don't want to hear it."

Austin pushed on. "He's still in love with you, you know."

Trish froze, hands clenched around her pager. It suddenly started buzzing and she shook her head, retrieving her order. Austin's pager buzzed soon after, and they quickly found a table to sit at and eat.

"It's true," Austin said after some time. "He won't admit it, but he's still crazy in love with you, and I can't say how sorry I am that my leaving caused you two to break up and then react to each other years later like... this."

Trish sighed. "I don't blame you for what happened between Dez and I. The only thing I blame you for is leaving when you and Ally were happiest. The only thing I blame you for is what happened to her after you left. You know the doctor had to prescribe sleeping pills for her because she couldn't sleep? She was up all night crying, and once her tears ran out, she started lowering her own self-esteem." Trish paused at the agonized look on Austin's face. "I know you're hurting right now listening to this, but I guarantee you, this is _nothing_ compared to what she felt. You _should_ feel bad, Austin. You didn't even have a good reason for leaving her except that you wanted fame. And _that_ is the only thing I blame you for."

Austin looked at her, eyes blazing. "I had my reasons for leaving. I didn't want to hurt her, I didn't think she was strong enough for the music business. You see what it's done to me! Trish, I love it, but I'm a complete player now. I have to be heartless to be that kind of person."

Trish raised an eyebrow. "Honey, you were always a player. Honestly, I'm surprised that your personality is still pretty much the same: sunny, optimistic, and happy-go-lucky."

"And do you think Ally would have survived with herself intact?" Austin laughed humorlessly.

"Well, she's doing it now. Like I told you, she was devastated when you left, but Ally Dawson's resilient. She came back up, and when she did, all she wanted was to beat you. So she did it." Trish sighed. "She beat her stage fright through will and force, in order to compete against you. She became someone whose heart was stronger, harder, and... colder. I don't love who she became, but she became that person to cope with you leaving."

Austin groaned, leaning back against his chair. "I never wanted to hurt her," he whispered.

"She never wanted to fall in love with you, and vice versa, but that didn't stop you from having your own little fairytale, now did it?" Trish smirked, leaning back against her chair smugly, satisfied that her point had been proven.

Austin was contemplative when he replied, "No, I guess it didn't." 

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dez and Ally sat in silence at Starbucks. Both very awkward people (although not so much anymore, at 23 years of age), they didn't know what to say to each other.<p>

Ally finally broke the silence with, "So... You and Trish, huh?"

Dez laughed. "Yup. Same as always, which would be arguing."

"But not like this," replied Ally softly, and they were back to best friends. "I've missed you," she admitted. "When Austin left, he took you with him, and I think he also took half of Trish with him. She's not as vibrant without you around, she's actually super serious now, can you believe that?"

Dez's eyes hardened. "Well, a lot of things have changed."

"No kidding." Ally sighed. "It didn't have to, you know. Austin could have taken us with him, but I guess he was too drunk on fame to do that." Her smile was bitter.

"No, Ally. That's where you're wrong. Austin was trying to protect you. The music biz... He didn't think you could handle it." Dez chuckled. "But look at you now. I'd say you handled it pretty well."

"So bottom line is, he didn't trust me. He probably still doesn't. He doesn't trust me to take care of myself, he doesn't trust me to be a big girl and suck it up— basically, he doesn't trust me to do anything." Ally crossed her arms, her expression one of disbelief.

"No, Ally, you know that's not true—" began Dez.

Ally held up a hand, stopping him. "He might trust me in some areas, Dez, but he still thinks I'm a fragile girl who can be broken easily." She scoffed. "I guess he never really knew me."

"Are you kidding? Ally, during the time that you were together, he was happy like I'd never seen him. You two are _meant_ to be together, I know that." Dez stood up, eyes blazing. Do you remember hearing Baby**(2)** on the radio? Yeah, well, guess who Austin wrote that for. I can't believe you two... You're supposed to be engaged right now, or _something_!"

Ally also stood up, eyes cold. "First, we're too young for that. Second, Austin and I aren't meant to be. Obviously." She smiled wistfully. "You and Trish have a better chance of getting together. You balance each other out, plus you're both crazy in love with each other, and you have no idea how sorry I am that Austin and I tore you two apart."

Dez scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Ally plowed on. "Trish would never admit it, but you're the reason she's been having these one-night stands. Without you around, she doesn't have the other half of her. The part that makes her saner than usual." She walked to the door, trailing Dez behind her. "Let's get back." She pulled the door open and stepped out.

"... Wait. Trish is having _one-night stands?_"

***Laugh*** "We've got a lot to catch up on, Dez." 

* * *

><p>The two pairs met back up at Ally's suite.<p>

"So, what's the plan?" Austin leaned back against the couch, hands tucked behind his head and feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Oh, sure, just go right ahead and make yourself at home," sneered Ally sarcastically. She got irritated when he did just that. "Feet of my furniture!" she snapped.

"Fine, Little Miss Priss." Austin rolled his eyes and took his feet of the coffee table.

Ally tried not to twitch in annoyance, or worse— reach for her hair (a habit she had broken for the sake of her popstar image). _Just don't acknowledge him and he'll go away_, she told herself. _Oh, who am I kidding, Austin Moon's never going to go away, not even after five years._

"Anyways..." Dez tried to bring the focus back on the matter at hand: how to deal with the leak. "We decided to compromise," he smiled tightly at Trish, who smiled sarcastically back, "and we're going to announce the collab at tonight's premiere of the fourth Mortal Instruments movie**(3)** to get that 'wow, drama' effect, but we're going to announce it to a planned press conference to get that polished, professional, this-is-what-we-planned-all-along feeling. Good?" He looked expectantly at Austin and Ally.

Who were, of course, studiously ignoring each other.

"Yes, Dez, I think that's a perfectly straight-forward plan, unlike _some_ people." Ally glared pointedly at Austin.

"I agree with your plan, Dez, it seems perfectly reasonable, unlike _some_ people." Austin glared right back.

Trish stood up. "Hold up. We're done with the sarcastic ribbing, there's plenty of time for that later. Right now, you and I," she crooked a finger at Ally, "have to go shopping for tonight."

"You're not going to make us go, are you?" Dez and Austin groaned, all tensions forgotten at the threat of another "hard-core shopping session".

"A lot of things have changed." Ally echoed Dez's words from earlier.

"So, we wouldn't _let_ you come even if you begged," finished Trish, taking Ally's arm. They pivoted and left, Trish sending the boys one mocking wave and a patronizing, "Bye, boys." 

* * *

><p>"And I just can't believe him! He thinks he can just show up at my doorstep five years later and not expect me to be mad?" Ally huffed. After she and Trish had finished shopping, she had immediately gone back to her suite. Unfortunately, Austin was still there, and more unfortunately still, he was in her room. Asleep. She couldn't bring herself to snap at him and wake him, so she had closed the door quietly and went on to rant at Alec over the phone. In the dining room. When she really could've been in her bedroom, comfortably laying on her bed while watching Discovery Channel. Oh, the things she did for that blonde popstar.<p>

"Well, I'm sure he's a perfectly fine guy, albeit a bit dense. Maybe you should give him a second chance?" offerred Alec.

Ally snorted, twirling her hair as she spoke on the phone to Alec. "Believe me, he's had plenty of second chances. I'm not about to give him another one." She sighed. "But thanks for trying to help, Alec. Talking to you always calms me down."

"Anytime, Ally. So, you going to the premiere tonight?" asked Alec.

"Yeah, you?"

"Well, I'm still looking for a date..." He trailed off, leaving the invitation wide open.

"What a coincidence! So am I, but I just can't seem to find the right guy..." Ally giggled as she heard Alec give a mock gasp of offense. Being in the biz had taught her how to flirt, and it had taught her how to flirt well. "I'm just kidding, Alec. Of course I'll go with you. I have to be honest, though, I'll probably have to go back to Asshole Austin a lot, since we have to announce something tonight."

Alec pretended to sound miffed. "Who said I was asking you?" After a pause, he laughed. "Of course I was asking you. Anyways, about Austin— don't worry about it. You can make it up to me later, promise."

Ally giggled again. "Oh, I don't doubt it. I'll see you soon, Alec. Bye!" She hung up with a smile on her face. It was true: talking to Alec always calmed her down. She wasn't a fiery person by nature, but compared to Alec, she might as well be Austin compared to herself. Alec was a peace lover, and avoided confrontation if he could. He was always so calm and reserved, but sometimes she wished he could really be passionate about something and let go of all his reservations, like Austin and her with their music. Well, Austin didn't even have any reservations, so maybe that wasn't the best example... _Damn it!_ She cursed herself. How had Austin creeped his way into her thoughts, again?

"Done flirting with Alec?" asked Austin sarcastically, leaning against the wall.

Evidently, creeping into her thoughts hadn't been the only type of creeping he was doing. "Were you eavesdropping?" questioned Ally.

Austin snorted. "On what? Your lame Discovery Channel marathon?"

"Austin, the TV isn't even on," pointed out Ally.

"Whatever. I just caught the end of your conversation, that's all." He brushed past her on the couch and made his way to the kitchen while Ally sighed and rolled her eyes at his impossible-ness. A moment later, his head popped out around the doorframe. "Do you have pancakes?" he asked.

"Austin, it's four in the afternoon. You're not having pancakes," Ally said sternly.

Austin scoffed. "Pancakes are always welcome in my stomach, no matter what time it is. So, to repeat my earlier question, do you have pancakes?"

"No," replied Ally quietly. "Pancakes are your thing. Obviously, I don't have them here." A bit forcefully, she added, "Just go get some at a diner or something. Grab your jacket— I hung it up, by the way— and you're ready to go."

Austin blinked at her, confused at her sudden coolness. He had seen almost every side of her, but apparently not this one. Moody Ally... well, he didn't know how to deal with that. So, he did the only thing that he could think of. "Okay," he said simply. He grabbed his jacket and did what Ally thought he did best: _leave_.

Ally sighed, bringing her fingers to her temple and massaging them. To be perfectly honest, after their breakup, she had gotten rid of anything that linked her to Austin, except what brought them together in the first place: music. So, that meant no pancakes, no stuffed animals, no songs that she had written for him, even no pickles, which reminded her of how sweet he could be with his pickle baskets and such.

And now he was back. And she didn't know what to do. 

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whoo-wee, I did not expect this chapter to be so dramatic! Or so prolonged... now my story outline has to change to fit this.. Meh. A little squishing there, a little stretching there; it'll all turn out fine.**

**A shout-out to my new Twitter friends! That's right, I'm on Twitter now. You can find me at SingDanceWrite. Anyways, apparently my stories are getting publicity on Twitter and Tumblr, an I couldn't be happier. Thanks so much, everyone!**

**Again, that's SingDanceWrite - My Twitter.**

**I feel like a lot of you don't read these little Author's Notes, and I don't mind, but I really advise that you do. There's important info and nuggets of gold hiding in these A/N's!**

**Check out my Wordpress (accessible through my profile), blah blah blah. OH! My username's changed! I am now LostAmongTheStars because that's what got the most votes on my profile.**

**(1) Teavana- tea store. (2) I've got nothing against the Biebs, but I'm not a fan, either. Whoever writes his songs, though, must be amazing, because the songs are incredibly catchy. C'mon, you can't deny that... Anyways, imagine Austin singing this about Ally, and imagine it in the style of Glee's cover, mm'kay? (3) The Mortal Instruments is an amazing book series; really good, I suggest you go check 'em out. They're actually in the midst of shooting the first movie, and since this is set in the future, I hope by then they'll have finished shooting the fourth movie.**

**I might have written that last section and this whole A/N in a very Southern kind of voice, and that's because I've just discovered a TLC reality TV series called Say Yes to the Dress. Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta is a spin-off to it and I actually like if better, and since it's in Atlanta, Georgia, everyone is very Southern. I love that, and I've been watching Say Yes to the Dress and its many spin-offs obessively on my dad's Netflix account (and on regular TV, of course).**

**~Sabrina**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and some things you do. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Copyright 2012 LostAmongTheStars**

* * *

><p>"So, Dez, Austin, and I will be around your place at 6 in the limo. We'll send Austin up to get you, and then we'll meet Alec at the premiere. Good?" asked Trish authorititavely over the phone.<p>

Ally sighed, fastening an earring to an ear. "Why does Austin have to come and get me?"

"You're gonna have to spend lots of time with him anyway, five more minutes won't kill you," Trish replied dismissively.

"I dunno, it might," she wheedled.

Trish's tone was amused when she said, "Bye, Ally. See you in ten minutes," and hung up.

Ally rolled her eyes and hung up as well. _If Asshole Austin shows up even a second late, I'm slapping him_, she thought peevishly.

To her immense displeasure, he showed up two minutes ahead of schedule. He even knocked politely at her door, instead of barging in like she thought he would.

So, when she opened the door to let him in, she couldn't stay irritated for long. Instead, she greeted him cordially. "Hi." Well, cordially and awkwardly.

"Hey," he returned, stepping in, looking around, and running his hand through his hair, looking equally as awkward.

There was absolutely no attraction between them (that whole leaving-for-fame/becoming-famous-for-revenge thing kinda stood in the way of that), but they each had to admit that the other looked good. Dressed in a short peach/salmon-colored strapless dress that showed off her legs and her curves, and with her hair up in an elaborate updo, Ally looked gorgeous. On the other hand, Austin looked boyishly handsome in a classic-cut black suit. His tie, however, was hanging loose, and Ally twitched at the sight of that. Her hands itched to tighten the knot of his tie, and he knew it.

Sighing, he said, "Go ahead, Ally. I know you want to fix my tie."

Ally breathed a sigh of relief, stepping close to him to tighten his tie. "Five years, and you still can't manage a tie?" she murmured.

"Nope," he mumbled, their closeness getting to both of them.

Fortunately (unfortunately?), she cleared her throat and stepped back, grabbing her clutch and saying, "Trish and Dez are probably waiting for us, let's go."

"Yeah, let's." He offered his arm to her and she took it, just a hint of hesitation in her features. "Relax," he murmured as they stepped into the elevator. "We're gonna have to be, y'know, close to each other and stuff at this premiere. Get used to it." Still, he stepped further away, leaving ample space betwen them in the elevator.

As the elevator doors opened, Ally nudged Austin with a teasing expression, "When did you learn the meaning of personal space?"

He grinned and replied, "Dafuq is personal space?" to humor her. They both smiled at each other for a second before the awkwardness again overcame them. Personal space had been one of the issues they used to tease each other about. Austin never had any qualms about stealing Ally's air (even before they started dating), and that was one of the things that triggered their first kiss.

Austin was enough of a gentleman to hold open the limo door for her, and he did so with a polite smile. However, they sat on opposite sides of the seats while Dez and Trish tapped away on their phones, all the while managing to silently project waves of anger towards each other. Austin and Ally took the sensible option and gingerly skirted around the topic of the Dez/Trish relationship.

The ride to the premiere was spent in silence, all four of them staring down at their phones to avoid eye contact. However, Ally was, as always, awkward, and she broke the silence mid-way through with, "So which flavor of the week are you texting now, Austin?"

He glanced up, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Whenever you're flirting, you get this little smile on your face and your dimples kinda poke through a tiny bit," she replied softly. She didn't mention that he used to do that all the time with her.

"Fair enough." He shrugged. "I'm texting Andrea, but she's getting a little boring... I think it's time for a switch."

"So you're just going to break up with her because you're bored?" Ally shook her head in disbelief.

Austin shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

Ally snorted. "Boy, you're just lucky you're famous and good-looking. Otherwise, women wouldn't be able to stand the kind of treatment that you come with."

He grinned slyly. "So you think I'm good-looking?"

Old Ally would have stuttered and blushed, turning a flustered shade of pink. However, New Ally simply shrugged. "It's Hollywood. Most everyone's good-looking, and besides, I'm just being professional."

"Oh. Okay." He didn't know why he felt so disappointed— not so much that she didn't find him attractive (because he knew she did), but because she wasn't flustered or stumbling on her words, and her cheeks didn't have that pink tint to them that he used to love. But, he decided that one little moment of weakness— showing her that he was disappointed— was one too many, and he decided to revert back to tried-and-true Asshole Austin mode. Smirking, he asked, "You're being professional? Are you sure you're not in denial, 'cause I know you think I'm attractive."

She didn't tease him back like he thought she would. Instead, she gave him a dark look. "It doesn't matter how good-looking you are, Austin. You're leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you, and believe me, I know how long it takes to heal." Her smile was bittersweet when she said, "Don't play around, Austin. It'll only end up in disaster." She scoffed. "I should know, having been played by you..." She trailed off as the limo pulled up across the red carpet. Dez and Trish left without saying another word, but Austin leaned across the seat and caged Ally in with his body before she could exit the limo.

He looked her dead in the eye. "I may be a heart breaker and an asshole, but I did not play you. I could never do that to you. That was real. If anything in my life is real, that brief one-year period of bliss was it. I loved you, Ally. I really did." He leaned back, satisfied that he had gotten his point across.

However, Ally leaned forward and hissed, "It may have been real, but obviously it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough for you, so you know what? You can take your sickeningly sweet words and stuff it up your ass." She smiled bitterly at his expression. "Don't look so surprised at hearing me swear, Austin. A lot of things have changed," she repeated, then took the hand of the chauffeur and whirled away.

"Lady troubles?" The chauffeur tsk-ed sympathetically as Austin climbed out of the limo.

Austin shook his head. "Nah, I don't have lady troubles." He smiled politely as the chauffeur just tipped his hat at him and got back in the limo, then left. Under his breath, Austin muttered, "I just have Ally troubles. And damn, there's a lot of them."

* * *

><p>Although everyone left the limo absolutely seething, they all grudgingly found each other at the start of the red carpet.<p>

Obviously displeasingly, Dez and Trish managed to hook arms and walk down the red carpet, each trying to trip the other. A lot of things may have changed, but their maturity level sure hasn't. Austin made to wrap his arm around Ally's waist, but she stopped him.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

Austin rolled his eyes. "Wrapping my arm around you. Standard Hollywood protocol; boy wraps arm around girl's waist, girl takes boy's arm. Duh."

Ally shook her head. "Actually, I have Alec, remember?"

"Oh... right." Austin smiled affably. "Well, go flirt with Frenchie, then." He shoo-ed her off to find Alec, then groaned and rubbed at his temples.

"You're Asshole Austin, aren't you?" A voice came from at his left. It was a tall blonde with striking blue eyes. Typical.

However, Austin wasn't admiring her beauty, for once. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed indignantly.

The blonde shook her head. "No, no, I don't call you that! My boss does."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Who's your boss?"

"Ally Dawson. I'm Yvette, her personal assistant." The blonde, now known as Yvette, daintily extended a hand towards Austin.

He took it, bending down to kiss it. "Well, Yvette, it seems like Ally's ditched me for Alec. You wanna be my date?"

Yvette shrugged. "You'll have to do," she teased.

"Oh, I'll have to do? I'll show you!"

* * *

><p>"Hi, beautiful," a voice murmured in her ear.<p>

Ally turned around, a delighted smile on her face. "Alec! Hi," she said, kissing his cheek.

"You look great," he said, extending out an arm for her to take.

Ally groaned, taking it. "Well, I've been dealing with Asshole Austin for two days, so it's a miracle that I'm even alive."

Alec laughed amiably as they started down the red carpet, pausing periodically to let themselves be photographed. "Like I said before, I'm sure he's not that bad."

Ally raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, have you met the guy?"

He shrugged. "Actually, no, but why don't you introduce me? We can bond over how bitchy you can get," he smirked as Ally gaped at him.

She tried to hinge her jaw back on. "Alec!" she exclaimed, suddenly grinning. "And the claws come out! I didn't know you had that in you..."

He shrugged again, modestly. "Well, y'know. I learned from the best." He boop-ed her nose, at which she automatically stiffened. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." She smiled tightly.

"Allyson Marie Dawson. What. Is. Wrong."

She sighed. "It's just... Austin used to boop my nose like that. And after the break-up, I tried to get rid of everything that reminded me of him, so... y'know." She shrugged uncomfortably.

"Well, if you need me to make him jealous, I'm here for you." Alec winked as Ally gaped once again.

"Jealous?" she spluttered. "Why on God's green earth would I—"

"Revenge," replied Alec simply.

"But that wouldn't even work. Austin obviously doesn't feel anything for me, and the feeling is mutual. Well, I do feel something for him, but it's a burning hatred. For me, I'm pretty sure all he feels is whatever that stupid smirk is suppose to convey." She scrunched her face up in irritation as Alec laughed.

"Ally, Ally, Ally," he chided. "You're so cute when you think you're right. Why wouldn't Austin feel anything for you? You're hot," he said bluntly. "Don't roll your eyes at me— you eat whatever you want, you don't work out much, and you're still skinny as a stick. Where is the fairness in this world?"

"It's all in the ol' metabolism." Ally grinned, patting her stomach.

Alec shook his head at her, amused. "Okay, first of all, you're a dork. Second of all, your metabolism isn't a place in your body."

"Shut up, Mr. Medical-School-Graduate-To-Be," she muttered, flushing.

"It's common knowledge, babe." He grinned, even as his eyes turned serious. "But really, Ally. You want revenge? This is the best way to do it. Seduce him, then pretend to be completely in love with me. And voilà, one broken heart; to go."

Ally laughed. "You want me to seduce him? Alec, the farthest I go up on the Sexy Scale is cute."

He raised his eyebrows. "Beg to differ, sweetheart." He swept a hand over her dress, then whistled. "I mean, I don't even swing that way and I think you are drop-dead gorgeous. Besides," he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "the guy behind us— I think it's Roos Lunch(1)— is totally staring at your cute little ass right now."

Ally gasped. "No! No way! Roos Lunch? The pornstar and stripper**(1)**?" At Alec's nod, she hissed, "What is he even doing here? This isn't a rated-R-film premiere!"

Alec shrugged. "Supposedly, he's turned a new leaf and is starting his own band. I think they're called The Lucky Sperm Club**(1)** or something."

Ally's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Kid-friendly name."

They had reached the end of the red carpet by now, and they exchanged kisses on the cheek in the traditional French fashion as a way of saying goodbye.

"Good luck with Austin; I'll see you after you guys announce your thing, and we can watch the movie together, deal? And where's Trish?" asked Alec.

Ally smiled. "Deal. And I have no idea. I think she's with Dez, though, so just look for a ginger mop of hair."

"Got it." He mock-saluted her, then disappeared among the mingling celebrities.

"Ally." Austin approached her, Yvette in hand.

"Austin," she returned coolly. Turning to Yvette, her eyes brightened. "Yvette! You made it!" She hugged the blonde girl affectionately.

"What do you mean, 'you made it'?" asked Austin.

"I'm always trying to get Yvette to come to these events with me. The girl has to get out more!" exclaimed Ally, hooking an arm through Yvette's.

Austin raised his eyebrows. "You're saying she doesn't have social skills? Ally, this girl has been the most fun I've had since Usher's party last year! And besides," he smirked, "it used to be you that we had to drag every where."

Ally narrowed her eyes at him. "A lot. Of things. Have changed," she gritted out. "Yvette, don't go falling for this boy. He's an idiot—"

"— a jerk, a douchebag, and a son of a bitch. He's just Asshole Austin," recited Yvette.

Austin let out a laugh. He pointed to Yvette delightedly. "Would you look at that? I guess you complain about me so much that she's memorized all your insults!"

Ally gaped at the two. "I— you— wha— hey, that's not fair! You can't gang up on me like that!" She crossed her arms huffily.

Austin laughed freely, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "Oh, Ally— _oh_. Ally." His voice dropped as they both remembered how easily they used to banter with each other, and how normal an arm around a shoulder used to be.

Ally cleared her throat, staring at her shoes while Austin quickly removed his arm. "Um, yeah. Yvette," she turned to her assistant and smiled. "Good luck with Asshole Austin over there. I'll see you guys back here after the movie."

Yvette returned the smile. "Of course. And I believe it's _you_ that will need help with Austin; you're scheduled to announce the collab in ten minutes."

"Great." The look on Ally's face could only be described as peevish.

"But you can still go mingle right now," offered Yvette.

Ally brightened up considerably. "Yay! You're a life-saver. Anything to get this rocker out my sight, right?" she smiled wryly at Austin.

"A billion hits is what I'll get," they both sang softly, Ally harmonizing along. They shot a quick glance at each other, then looked away.

"I'm gonna... yeah, I'm gonna leave now." Flustered, Ally left the pair to themselves. Damn it, Ally! she scolded her self. Don't let him get to you, don't let him get to you, don't let him get to you.

Watching her go, Austin's eyes clouded over, frustration marring his normally bright brown eyes. "Who's she seeing the movie with?" he asked casually.

"Alec," replied Yvette simply. "Jealous?"

Austing turned to her, grinning. "How can I when I've got you?"

Yvette smiled and blushed on cue, but inside she was thinking how Austin and Ally could easily make the poster couple for Annoyingly In Denial.

* * *

><p>"Trish!" Alec called out.<p>

"Alec! Hey, how are you?" She hugged him gladly. "How's Ally doing?" she asked immediately.

"I don't know, I sent her to Asshole Austin. Listen, I—" but he was cut off.

"Don't tell me, you're plotting revenge, too?" Trish grinned deviously.

Alec shrugged. "Well, kinda. I mean, my plan for 'revenge' will make them fall in love."

Trish deadpanned. "Right. And then they'll ride off into the sunset on a carriage drawn by unicorns who sneeze rainbows and poop gold. Keep dreaming, buddy."

He rolled his eyes. "I just want to make Austin jealous, okay? I want Ally to seduce him—" at this Trish's eyebrows shot up, but he continued, "— and then I want her to pretend to be completely in love with me. Bam, broken Asshole Austin heart. Just like he did to her years ago."

"Okay, I like where you're going with breaking that blonde bimbo's heart. But where's the romantic part of it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Hopefully we won't have to break his heart; he'll just realize how much he lurrrrrves Ally," admitted Alec. "And then they'll get together and it'll be Happyland for all of us."

"Alright, I'm listening. Only to the revenge part, though; I'll help you with that. And Alec, honey?" Trish placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What?"

"Don't be weird and say lurrrrrve."

"It's not weir—"

"Yes it is."

* * *

><p>After Ally left, Yvette and I chatted. I gotta say, she is a lot of fun. She's funny, interesting, smart, and, best of all, easy to get along with. Ally, on the other hand... well, she hates my guts, let's leave it at that.<p>

Anyways, soon enough it was time to do our press conference, so I went to find Ally.

I looked around, scanning the crowd of mingling celebrities for a petite brunette. I finally found her with Lacey Forgenson, a supermodel and TV personality.

"Hey, Ally," I said, grabbing her arm. "We gotta go." I gave Lacey a smile. I used to date her, and she was one of the only ones who stayed friends with me after the break-up, because we had had such a friendly relationship. "Hey, Lace. How are you?"

Ally rolled her eyes. "Oh, okay. 'We gotta go', my ass." I opened my mouth to argue with her, but before I could, she cut in with, "Lacey, I'll see you later, okay? I gotta go with Asshole Austin."

Lacey laughed, throwing her head back. Another thing I liked about her: she was genuine. "Asshole Austin? I love it!" She patted my cheek fondly, ignoring me as I swatted at her hands. "You take care of her, Asshole. I don't want to see her come back to me with a broken heart," she joked. Ally and I could only look away from each other uncomfortably; oh, if only she knew what our history was like.

I think Lacey picked up on the awkwardness radiating from us, because she quickly said goodbye to to let us go "annouce stuff". However, I did see her shoot Ally one of those we'll talk about this later looks, and I groaned internally. Lacey was definitely a nosy person, and not just that, but she was also very persistent.

"C'mon, Asshole," sighed Ally, breaking into my thoughts and coming close to hold onto my arm. "Let's go quote-unquote announce stuff."

I nodded, leading her out of the crowd. "Yeah, let's. I mean, the sooner we finish, the sooner you get go back to Alec, right?" I smiled nonchalantly. She and Alec seemed kind of friends-with-benefits, and I just wanted to hear her confirm it. Then again, a lot of things might have changed, but I was pretty sure Ally would never do a friends-with-benefits relationship.

She smiled softly. "Yeah. He's nice, isn't he?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, I haven't met him yet."

Her eyebrows shot up. "What? I have to introduce you guys; he seems to think that you're not as bad as I make you out to be. This will be a good opportunity to prove him wrong." She nudged me teasingly, and I couldn't helpt but grin back. Ally and her lame (well, not so lame now) jokes had been sorely missed.

"Austin! Ally!" called Dez, waving us over. We hurried on to him. "C'mon, we've been waiting!"

Ally and I looked at each other guiltily. "Sorry," we chorused.

Dez shook his head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. You've got a press conference to do!"

We both nodded and Ally made her way up to the podium. I nodded at her to begin.

She smiled at the crowd. "Hi, everyone, and thanks for coming on short notice; although, for good, reputable gossip— sorry, news—, I suppose you'd all come in a heartbeat." At this, everyone laughed. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe how comfortable she was with the crowd, and how easily she could control them. She's right, a lot of things have changed. I smiled at my shoes, then looked up as Ally started talking again; I was proud of her, as strange as that sounded. "We decided to announce this in person instead of through our publicity agents—"

Here she was cut off as everyone started asking if the big news was that she and I were dating. I expected her to get all flustered again (which, I have to admit, isn't something I'd be disappointed to see— flustered Ally is pretty adorable.), but instead, she just laughed.

"Austin and I? Together? Oh, God, no. If that ever happens, please remind me of the time— right now— when I told you all how much of an asshole he is," she grinned as the reporters laughed. "Just kidding, guys. Austin and I have a love-hate relationship— mostly hate," she joked, "which means he'll probably start teasing me as soon as I hand over the mic. Anyways, we're announcing this in person because we thought it'd be a little more personal, y'know? Plus, nothing gets more attention than a celebrity actually doing something for themselves." She smiled wryly. "Well, the reason we called you all today is so that we could announce something that I'm very excited about." She smiled widely, and I snorted. Excited about, my ass. Her lying skills sure have improved, though. "Austin, why don't you come up here with me?"

I stepped up, waving genially. "Alright, now I'm going to start teasing Ally, like she predicted," I joked. She smiled and shoved me playfully— and fakely. I knew that by tomorrow, all the magazines would be declaring that our "chemistry is fantastic" or whatever, but that's what we wanted them to think, so I'd keep pretending as long as Ally did. "Anyways," I started, "Ally and I have known each other since we were sixteen, y'know, but we didn't really get a chance to interact until now. We're very excited to annouce that starting this week, we will be doing a collaboration on each other's new albums!" There was a moment of silence, then everyone started scriblling stuff down on their notepads and taking pictures. Ally and I smiled, me wrapping my arm around her waist in classic Hollywood papparazzi protocol.

Soon after, questions were thrown at us, but we deflected them easily with one, "We aren't yet allowed to disclose any more information, but as soon as we are, you're the first ones we'll call."

We left the podium quickly, still smiling for the photographers. "You weren't supposed to tell them about our history together," Ally hissed out of the side of her mouth.

I gave a tiny shrug. "All I said was that we knew each other as kids; no big deal."

"Ugh," she huffed. "You're impossible."

"Impossibly attractive?" I tried.

She rolled her eyes. "Right. Sure. In that I'm-a-playboy-you-can-tell-can't-you-but-in-case-you-can't-just-look-at-the-tabloids kind of way."

I raised my eyebrows. "That was... specific." We finally reached Dez and Trish in the crowd of celebrities.

"Hey, that was great!" congratulated Trish.

"Good job, buddy!" Dez clapped me on the back.

Ally and I both murmured words of thanks as they left to spread the news. Just as she began to come around and (grudgingly) "celebrate" our collaboration with me, someone came up to her, grabbing her arm abruptly. I recognized him as Logan Freeman, her ex, and that instantly put me on edge. I knew how explosive their break-up had been.

He started murmuring things in her ear, and I couldn't hear him, but whatever he said, it got Ally mad. She pushed him away angrily while I thought, good for you, Dawson. However, his vise-like grip on her arm tightened, and whatever he was saying got lost in the rush of blood pounding in my ears as she cried out in pain and he slapped her.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had punched him square in the face and he had fallen, taking some people behind him down with him (was that Kendall and Kylie Jenner? Oops... I'd have to apologize to them later.). I couldn't say that I was sorry to see him on the ground. I rushed over to Ally, taking her away from him. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked, ducking slightly to look her in the eye.

She seemed to shake herself a little before replying, "Yeah, I'm fine." She shot a dirty glance at Logan, who, by now, had been apprehended by security. I was surprised they didn't take me, too, but I suppose if they did, Ally would set the record straight.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" I sounded obviously worried, but I didn't even care anymore. I inspected her arm, and I swear I saw red as my eyes landed on the red handprint Logan fucking Freeman had left on her arm. "He left a fucking handprint on your arm; he was hurting you that much! Ally, you're not fine!" I cried.

She shook her head, trying to pull her arm away from me, but I held on. She winced and I saw her hold back a gasp of pain as my hand accidently pressed down where he had held her. I let go, my eyes widening. "Ally, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, gently taking her other arm and pulling her back to me. "Hey." I tilted her chin up so that we were face-to-face, and that was when I saw the other red handprint— this time, on her face. I shut my eyes tightly, trying not to go after that motherfucker myself. "Ally," I said, this time softer. She finally met my eyes, and I was surprised to see defiance in them.

"What?" she spat. "I don't need your help, Austin. I can protect myself!"

My eyebrows shot up, and I scoffed. "Right. I see how well you were protecting yourself." She opened her mouth to retort, but I cut her off, shaking my head. "That's not the point right now. You're hurt." I started to push through the gathering crowd. Once I made my way to the curb, I called for a cab and pulled Ally in with me, ignoring her protests as I gave the driver my address.

Once she was seated in the cab, she rolled her eyes and said, "He just gripped me a little tightly, Austin, that's all. And it's not like I haven't been bitch-slapped before; I went to college, y'know. It's not a big deal." She smiled hesitantly, obviously trying to get me to drop it, but I wouldn't even crack a smile.

"It is a big deal," I said fiercly. "It doesn't matter if we aren't boyfriend-and-girlfriend anymore and we don't love each other like we used to, I still won't stand by and watch some guy hurt you physically. Mentally and emotionally, that's your problem," I told her bluntly, "But if I can see that's he's leaving fucking handprints on you, I'm going to punch the bastard out."

She was silent for a while. Then, "Thanks," she said, looking up at me hesitantly through her eyelashes. Whoa. Wait, what? That was not what I was expecting her to say, and I guess she knew that, because she went on to say, "Thanks for caring, even if our parting could have been smoother." We both smiled ruefully at that. "Let's start over," she decided. Holding out a hand, she said, "I'm Ally Dawson. Nice to meet you."

I grinned, taking her hand and shaking it. "I'm Austin Moon. I think we'll be great partners." It was eerily reminiscent of our first partnership agreement (minus the awkward half-hugs/half-handshakes), but I didn't dwell on that memory. Starting over sounded pretty good to me. "But you're not getting out of that Logan thing," I warned her. "If I see him within a ten-feet radius of you again, I will punch him out. Oh, and you have to let me ice your injuries," I added.

She rolled her eyes (she seemed to be doing that to me a lot today) as the cab pulled up to my high-rise. "Okay, Asshole."

I groaned at the sound of my quote-unquote nickname. "You keep saying that so often, pretty soon I won't be Austin Moon in the magazines, I'll be Asshole Austin," I joked lamely, holding open the door for her.

"Geez, Austin. Are you trying to steal my Queen of Bad Jokes title away from me?" she teased as we stepped into the building and waited for the elevator.

"Maybe," I said evasively, grinning as she laughed. The elevator ding-ed and we stepped in, momentairly enveloped in bad elevator music.

Ally raised her eyebrows. "This is some, uh, pretty interesting music."

I snorted. "Right. Believe me, I've been complaining about it for months."

We got to the top floor pretty quickly. There's only one suite up there, and that would be mine. I unlocked the door and let her in, steadying her as she hopped out of her sky-high stilettos. I saw the look on her face, and sighed inevitably. "Go explore," I told her. "I know you want to," I added when she looked hesitant.

"Okay!" she finally agreed, skipping off. I couldn't help but chuckle. She was still the same old Ally Dawson at heart, and for that, I was glad. Perhaps Hollywood wouldn't corrupt her so much like I thought it would.

A few minutes later, she returned to the kitchen, where I had gotten out two packs of frozen peas. "Here, hop on," I said, indicating the counter. Hesitantly, she did as she was told. "Relax, I chuckled, handing her a pack of peas for her arm. I quieted down as I brushed the hair away from her face so that I could press the other pack of peas to her cheek. Seeing the handprints still got my blood boiling, but being so close to her at that moment... It was messing with my mind, and memories came back unheeded.

_Six and a quarter years ago_

_"Let's make pancakes," decides Ally, one day. We're sitting on the couch at my house and she's on my lap, cradled against my chest._

_It's a position I'm none too eager to leave, so I'm doubtful when I stop playing with the ends of her hair and ask, "Pancakes?"_

_Ally turns and raises her eyebrows at me. "Are you seriously hesitant about making pancackes right now? You, Austin Moon?" She shakes her head, pretending to be dismayed. "What has the world come to?"_

_I grin lazily, and my hands start to tangle themselves in her hair again. I start to think she's dropped the subject, but then she says, "Seriously. Let's make pancakes."_

_I groan as she leaves my lap to head towards the kitchen. "Ally!" I whine, and I know I sound like a petulant child, but c'mon. This is Ally we're talking about here; Ally against pancakes. I think it's obvious which one I'd pick. Although, that might just be the honeymoon stage of the relationship talking— but, no. I look at Ally, who's got her little hands on her hips, pleading at me with her eyes, which is something I find both adorable and irresistible, and I know that what we have is different. It's special, it will last, and with those thoughts, I reluctantly drag myself up from the couch and over to where Ally is standing._

_Immediately, her fingers thread through mine and as she leads me to the kitchen, I can't help but stop and stare for a second._

_"What?" she asks self-consiously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear._

_"Nothing." I smile, taking her hands into mine and pulling her close. "It's just... You're amazing, you know that? "_

_Her eyes widen and I think I hear her catch her breath, but I can't be sure because her cheeks are starting to flush and her eyes have widened in wonder, and I think I know now what it feels like to be totally, completely, and endlessly in love— even if it's only been a month. "I— I— you— how can you just say that?" she stammers out finally. "How can you just say that when it's only been a month?"_

_"I can say it because I can say 'I love you' without a single doubt." The words are barely out of my mouth when I realize what I've just said. "Oh— uh— I— I didn't mean for that to cone out..." I stammer, instantly feeling nervous and shy. But then I look at her, and she looks so lost and vulnerable that I just want to hold her and never let go._

_"Y-You love me?" she stutters out, completely innocently. I nod firmly, then I'm almost knocked back against the wall as she flings her arms around me and surges up to kiss me. I grin against her lips, slowly pushing her back against the opposite wall as I kiss her back harder; I'm slightly worried I bruised her lips._

_"I love you more," she breathes out in between kisses, and at that, I take her up by the legs, holding her to me. I bring us to the kitchen, still lip-locked, and set her down on the counter._

_"No, I think I love you more," I reply, smirking._

_She raises her eyebrows, then places her hands on my shoulders and leans forward (she's so short that she's only face-to-face with me right now, while she's sitting on a counter and I'm standing up— it's incredibly endearing.), "We'll see about that." She doesn't get any further than that, because afterwards it's just a tangle of limbs and lips and my heart is doing crazy, strange things in my ribcage. We're so close I can feel her erratic heartbeat against mine, and I think it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard— just her heart beating, strong against mine._

I was just staring at Ally the whole time while I relived the memory, and I knew she was, too, because she was looking down and her cheeks had a pink tint to them.

"Peas? Really?" she asked softly, breaking the silence between us in a tone that was slightly tinged with awkwardness.

All I could do was chuckle raggedly. What else, after remembering something like that so vividly? "Sorry, I'll be sure to stock up on real ice packs for your clumsiness," I replied, inherent sarcasam showing through.

She raised her eyebrows. "Who says I'll be coming to you, Doctor Moon?"

"'Cause I'm the best in the business," I retorted. "And, who would give up a chance to enter Austin Moon's suite?" Okay, so I reverted back to Asshole Austin mode. So what? It was getting dangerously emotional.

Ally snorted. "I would. Anyways, since when did happy-go-lucky Austin Moon start using sarcasm?"

I shrugged. "Hollywood changes a person." I didn't mention to her how that was the exact reason why I left her behind. I thought she wouldn't be able to handle it— the pressure, the bright, glittering lights, and the high-speed life. I thought Hollywood would break her, but obviously I thought wrong. She had managed to succeed in Hollywood and still keep herself intact, which was something I was starting to think that I didn't do so well in.

Everything just proved that she's strong, stronger than I ever imagined her to be.

And I didn't know what to do about that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: FROM NOW ON IN THIS STORY I will be writing in the present tense, instead of in the past tense like I've been doing. Normally, I wouldn't change tenses, but I feel that present tense would benefit this story more.**

**(1) I have nothing left to say except... only my Twitter people (people? Friends? Followers? What do I call them idek) will understand this one.**

**IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: My username has changed to from_sabrina. Repeat, that is from_sabrina.**

**~ Sabrina**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and some things you don't. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Copyright 2012 LostAmongTheStars**

* * *

><p>The minute he wakes up on Wednesday, Austin knows it's going to be an... <em>interesting<em> day. First off, he's late for his meeting with Ally at her studio. So, he scrambles to get up, get dressed, and get his ass over to the studio.

Unfortunately, he drops his contacts into the sink and is forced to waste another five minutes searching for his glasses, while at the same time brushing his teeth and shaving.

When he finally finds his glasses and finishes bandaging himself (he cuts himself in his hurry while shaving) , it's already half an hour past the time he and Ally were supposed to meet, and he knows he's screwed. He just hopes his earplugs will mute the sound of her yelling at him, and that she won't notice he actually has them in his ears.

Really, though, he is too young to go deaf. Or die from Ally-inflicted pain.

* * *

><p>He sprints to the studio, not bothering to call a taxi (Los Angeles traffic is awful at this time of day— besides, exercise is good for you and stuff, right?). It's twenty blocks but he's in good shape, so when he arrives at the studio, he's only just out of breath, not completely out of breath. In his head, he thanks Dez and his crazy let's-wake-up-at-6AM-every-day-to-run-a-couple-miles idea.<p>

In the elevator up to Ally's studio, he takes a moment to breathe and think. Technically, he and Ally are starting over on a fresh page, but he knows better than anyone (except maybe Ally) that old memories and grudges don't fade easily. He knows that he has hurt Ally, and while it breaks his heart to hear just how much he hurt her, he stands by his reasons to leave her and still believes that it was for the best.

Of course, none of that is supposed to matter, given that they've decided to forget it all and move on. So why was he thinking about happy memories from years ago with Ally, just a couple nights ago when she was on his kitchen counter? More importantly, why was _she_ thinking about them, too, 'cause he knows that she was.

And while tacky elevator music plays in the background, a little, slightly tinny voice in his head goes, _Maybe it's because neither of you wants to forget._

He's just about to reply-slash-argue with that voice (no, he's not crazy... at least, not _certified_ crazy) when the elevator dings, signifying that his floor has arrived, as well as cutting the elevator music off (_thank the lord almighty_, he thinks).

It's a quiet, carpeted hallway that the elevator leaves him at. And suddenly another memory comes back to him, one that leaves his heart clenching for what he and Ally used to be.

_Six years ago_

_The hallway to Austin's room at the house he grew up in was white and fluffily-carpeted. It was soft, too, which was important for what was about to happen next._

_"Austin, give it back!" Ally half-shrieked, half giggled, grabbing for the leather-bound notebook/songbook in Austin's hands._

_"Not unless I get to see what you were writing before I came in," smirked Austin, holding the book high up above his head, ensuring that she'd have to get on a chair or something to reach it. "Ah-ah-ah!" he reprimanded when she tried jumping for it, wagging his finger disapprovingly. "I know I saw my name written in there!" he insisted, starting the flip through the worn pages._

_"No, don't!" And she flying-tackled him out the door of his room where they had been just moments before. They were both knocked to the floor, Ally letting a heavy, "Oof," out._

_"Why are you making sounds of pain; I'm the one who got knocked flat onto the floor," grumbled Austin, starting to push himself and Ally up._

_Ally bit her lip, looking apologetic. "Sorry!" she exclaimed quickly, before nimbly snagging her book from Austin's hands._

_Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough getting up and escaping, because moments later he had hooked an arm around her and her trying-to-escape waist, and they were collapsed back on the ground again, the book clutched safely in Austin's hands. "Oops," he mimicked. And that was the beginning of the end, as moments after he said that, a wrestle for the book began._

_They tumbled around on the carpeted hallway, arms flailing and legs tangling, the book passing through hands many times until Austin once again had it in his posession. He stopped their little tussle so that he was holding her steady by the arms above him, while his back was against the floor._

_Ally blinked large doe eyes at him, pleading. "C'mon Austin, what will it take for you to give that back to me?"_

_The look on his face was sly. "Well..." And then he pulled her down to kiss him, earning him a surprised squeak from Ally. Hearing that, he grinned and flipped them, breaking apart from her for a second to smirk and say, "Kiss me and I might think about giving it back."_

_She hmph-ed a little at that, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She knew that she was supposed to be mad at him at the moment, but the hopeful look on his face was killing her with all the adorable in the world channeled into one look. "Stop that," she mumbled, turning her head to the side._

_"Stop what?" he chuckled, pulling on one of her curls that was splayed out on the floor._

_"That look you're giving me. The one where you're all I'm-an-irresistably-adorable-puppy-so-you-should-do-what-I-say," she grumbled, almost going as far as crossing her arms (but that would be childish, and obviously neither Austin nor Ally is childish)._

_He wrinkled his nose. "Would you really make out with a puppy?"_

_"Who said I was going to make out with you?"_

_"Who said you weren't?"_

_"... I just did."_

_Shaking his head amusedly, he replied, "Just kiss me. Please."_

_And she grinned, pulling him down by the shirt collar (Oh lord, was it popped? Dear god, it was!) to kiss him. Smiles pressed against smiles, arms around each other, little gasps and grins, and everything tangled up in a beautiful mess; that's what they were, and if their racing hearts were any indication, that was just how they liked it._

Austin's eyes darken at the memory, wondering how he would fare in a situation like that if it happened right now with Ally. With the type of iron-lady attitude she's been giving off, he almost expects her to have a black belt (which would be an unfair advantage in a wrestle-fight, his slightly-ADHD mind thinks).

Sighing (reliving memories of Ally always leaves him in a melancholy mood), he makes his way to the door of the studio— it's black and listless, which is exactly how he feels.

Upon entering, he finds himself in a living/sitting-room type space. Dez and Trish are seated at opposite ends of the room on leather armchairs, refusing to look at each other.

"Uh... hey, guys," greets Austin, slightly apprehensive. The whole situation with Dez and Trish has never been goood; even when they were dating (only for a little while, before Austin up and left), they were still fighting. Of course, that was years ago, when they were all high-strung and young. Austin keeps the hope that Dez and Trish will be able to have a healthy, loving relationship now that they're adults, even if the hate waves he's feeling right now say otherwise.

"Hi." Trish's reply is short, clipped, and tight, making Austin draw back a little in fear.

"Hello." Dez's response is equally snippy, although an added hair flip does prove that he's still himself.

"So..." Austin starts tapping his fingers against his knee, nervously anticipating that Dez and Trish will blow up soon— and when they do, he doesn't want to be there for it. "Anyways, I'm late by 45 minutes— holy shit, _45 minutes?_— to me and Ally's meeting, so I'm just going to go find her. Stay calm and neutral towards each other," he tacks on, "blood is hard to wash out of white walls."

At this, Trish snorts. "Okay, Switzerland. Ally's in the practice room; it's the last door to the right," she adds, pointing. "You better get in there, boy, before she shoots your face off for being late."

"I expected that, and I anticipated yelling, so I came prepared." He holds up his earplugs, grinning. "Do you think that she'll notice I'm wearing them?"

Trish raises an eyebrow. "She will when you start screaming about not being able to hear her."

Austin's expression freezes comically, eyes widening in realization. "Oh shit, that's true!"

Finally cracking a smile (albeit disbelievingly), Trish shoos him off with a helpful, "Don't die!"

Austin makes his way down the hallway, which is an all-wood masterpiece, beautifully lit with skylights. He marvels a little at just how successful she's become. He knows that she's on the top of the charts with him, but it never crossed his mind to think that she is in a position where she can have everything he does.

Last door to the right, he reminds himself, reaching it and twisting the handle. Inside is a room that's plain and stark black-and-white. It's contemporary, for sure, but Austin never pegged Ally as the contemporary type; no matter how dorky she is, he had always thought that she likes fun.

He spots Ally at the black grand piano in the center of the room, lost in a melody, but he doesn't enter the room. Instead, he lingers just at the doorway, glad that the piano blocks him from her view. He isn't sure what he's doing, exactly, but all he knows is that the way Ally works with music has always had an effect on him, and that hasn't changed over time.

Sudddenly Ally's phone rings, sounding slightly tinny and overly-loud in the soundproofed room. It interrupts her playing, and in his head, Austin curses whoever is calling.

"Hello?" answers Ally, not bothering to check her caller ID, which is her downfall for what happens next. "Logan?" she says incredulously, and Austin's fists tighten. "Why are you calling?" she asks tightly. Austin can't hear whatever Logan's reply is, but he can tell that it angers Ally. "You what?" she exclaims, standing up and starting to pace. Quickly, Austin draws back further from the doorway. "A second chance? Oh, please, would you stop and cut the bullshit?" Austin flinches; he's still not uses to hearing her swear. "You cheated on me with Sissy, we broke up. End of story." She's silent as Logan talks to her; begging and pleading. "Stop!" she says sharply. "Stop trying to sweet-talk your way out of this. I don't care about your excuses. Sure, maybe it is true that Sissy forced herself on you, but you could have stopped her. You could've said no, you should've said no, but you didn't. I don't need this, I don't need you. We are never ever getting back together, okay? Bye." And she hurls her phone at the wall.

That elicits a suprised yelp out of Austin, causing her to whip around and stare, wide-eyed, at him. "A-Austin?" she stammers, walking towards him. "What are you— did you hear all of that?"

He nods guiltily. "Yup... But please don't be mad at me! I— I'm as much of a part of this Logan thing now as you are; I got into a fight with him, so if he sues me, it's your fault," he jokes weakly.

At that, Ally seems to deflate. "Come in," she sighs, closing the door after he enters.

He seats himself gingerly on the floor (it's yet another carpeted surface; quite comfortable) and Ally collapses down next to him, lying flat on her back. She sighs, folding her hands over her stomach. "Y'know, things with Logan weren't always this bad," she starts.

"Well, I hope not; that would mean that he was _always_ cheating on you!" replies Austin.

She cracks a smile, then the corners of her lips turn down again. "I'm serious, though. We dated for almost a year, and it was... magical." Here, he feels a little miffed; what would she say _their_ year-and-a-quarter together was like? "I thought he could really be the one, you know? With a house and kids and everything."

"And a music room," he tacks on helpfully, making her laugh.

"Yeah, that, too." Her tone turns wistful. "For so long, everything was perfect. He was so sweet and caring and wonderful, and I was happy. And then, he went and cheated on me."

Austin's fists clench again, and he wants to hold her tight and tell her everything will be alright, but he knows that's not his position to do so anymore. So instead, he utters a single, "The next time I see him, can I punch him again?"

She laughs again, sitting up to face him. "Go crazy." Then they both quiet down as Ally wonders, _what now?_

"That truce we made on Sunday... it's not going to hold, is it?" Austin asks finally.

She shakes her head. "Probably not. Eventually I'm going to blow up at you for leaving, and eventually you're going to have to explain yourself."

"So shouldn't we get that over with now?" he points out. "It's a little unhealthy and a lot volatile to wait, isn't it?"

Her smile has a bitter tinge to it when she answers, "Well, our relationship was always a little unhealthy and a lot volatile." They're both quiet again, as if waiting for a sign that will tell them what to do next. "I wrote two songs about the break-up, y'know. At least some good has come out of this... Do you want to hear them?" she offers, as a sort of peace offering.

"Sure, why not?" He criss-crosses his legs (_criss-cross, applesauce_) and leans back on his hands, in listening position.

She grabs an acoustic guitar from where the band set-up is and sits down with him, crossing her legs. And she starts to sing.

"_It's strange to think the songs we used to sing_  
><em>The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone<em>  
><em>Yesterday I found out about you<em>  
><em>Even now just looking at you feels wrong<em>

_You say that you'd take it all back, given one chance_  
><em>It was a moment of weakness and you said yes<em>

_You should've said no, you should've gone home_  
><em>You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go<em>  
><em>You shouldn've known that word<em>  
><em>'Bout what you did with her'd get back to me<em>

_And I should've been there in the back of your mind_  
><em>I shouldn't be asking myself why<em>  
><em>You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet<em>  
><em>You should've said no, baby and you might still have me<em>

_You can see that I've been crying_  
><em>And baby you know all the right things to say<em>  
><em>But do you honestly expect me to believe<em>  
><em>We could ever be the same<em>

_You say that the past is the past, you need one chance_  
><em>It was a moment of weakness and you said yes<em>

_You should've said no, you should've gone home_  
><em>You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go<em>  
><em>You shouldn've known that word<em>  
><em>'Bout what you did with her'd get back to me<em>

_And I should've been there in the back of your mind_  
><em>I shouldn't be asking myself why<em>  
><em>You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet<em>  
><em>You should've said no, baby and you might still have me<em>

_I can't resist before you go tell me this_  
><em>Was it worth it? Was she worth this?<em>  
><em>No, no, no, no, no, no<em>

_You should've said no, you should've gone home_  
><em>You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go<em>  
><em>You shouldn've known that word<em>  
><em>'Bout what you did with her'd get back to me<em>

_And I should've been there in the back of your mind_  
><em>I shouldn't be asking myself why<em>  
><em>You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet<em>  
><em>You should've said no, baby and you might still have me!<em>"**(1)**

There's a moment of silence after she's done, where Austin sits still, stunned. Over the years, he's never listened to Ally's music, even if she was and still is side-by-side with him on the charts (too many emotions would come up if he did). Now, to finally hear what it sounds like... She was amazing. Still is. "Wow," he finally lets out. Leaning forward, excited, he asks, "Can I hear some more?"

She smiles and starts to strum again.

"_I remember when we broke up the first time_

_Saying, "This is it, I've had enough," 'cause like_  
><em>We hadn't seen each other in a month<em>  
><em>When you said you needed space. (What?)<em>  
><em>Then you come around again and say<em>  
><em>"Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me."<em>  
><em>Remember how that lasted for a day?<em>  
><em>I say, "I hate you," we break up, you call me, "I love you."<em>

_Oooh we called it off again last night_  
><em>But oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you<em>

_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
><em>We are never ever ever getting back together<em>  
><em>You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me<em>  
><em>But we are never ever ever ever getting back together<em>

_Like, ever.._."

In the middle, he gets up and starts dancing along, making her laugh and get up herself, moving along to the beat.

"_I'm really gonna miss you picking fights_  
><em>And me, falling for it screaming that I'm right<em>  
><em>And you, would hide away and find your peace of mind<em>  
><em>With some indie record that's much cooler than mine<em>

_Oooh, you called me up again tonight_  
><em>But oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you<em>

_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
><em>We are never ever ever getting back together<em>  
><em>You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)<em>  
><em>But we are never ever ever ever getting back together<em>

_Oooh yeah, oooh yeah, oooh yeah_  
><em>Oh oh oh<em>

_I used to think that we were forever ever_  
><em>And I used to say, "Never say never..."<em>  
><em>Huh, so he calls me up and he's like, "I still love you,"<em>  
><em>And I'm like... "I just... I mean this is exhausting, you know, like,<em>  
><em>We are never getting back together. Like, ever"<em>

_No!_

_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
><em>We are never ever ever getting back together<em>  
><em>You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me<em>  
><em>But we are never ever ever ever getting back together<em>

_We are not getting back together,_  
><em>We oh, not getting back together<em>

_You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)_  
><em>But we are never ever ever ever getting back together<em>" **(1)**

When's that's over, they've both collapsed back on the floor, feeling a little delirious.

"That was fun," murmurs Ally, staring at the ceiling.

Austin nods. "Mmhm."

"I didn't know you wore glasses," she says after a beat. To be honest, they look quite adorable on him, she thinks.

He shrugs. "Too many nights in front of the computer or TV, I guess. And all those late-night writing sessions with you. Why, do you hate them?"

She shakes her head. "No. I think they make you look more... real, if that makes sense."

They're quiet for a while, then he grows serious. "I miss our jam sessions and our late-night writing sessions, Ally." The words "I miss us" are on the tip of his tongue, but for once in his life, he holds back; now is not the right time.

She rolls over to look at him (he's still on his back, so it's sort of an upside-down situation) questioningly, and there's a hint of vulnerability in her tone when she says, "Well, maybe we can keep having them. Y'know, start up the old tradition again."

"The way I remember it, though, jam sessions occasionally ended up with another type of session..." He trails off, frozen, as he realizes that he's just crossed a line that wasn't even there before.

"Yeah, okay. That won't happen anymore, I promise," she smiles ironically. She doesn't want to talk about the past and she doesn't want to bring up feelings she's suppressed for years, so she switches the subject quickly. "Um, collab?"

And then the atmosphere goes back to professional as Austin quickly replies, "Yeah, definitely." They both hoist themselves off the floor and onto the piano bench. Even their closeness doesn't affect the professional mood as Ally starts chattering on about ideas and melodies and lyrics. He smiles and nods at all the right times because she's always been the songwriter, not him, but his heart isn't into it.

"... and if you want, we can even add in a little— hey, are you alright?" She finally notices how out of it he is.

He nods. "Yeah, but... I feel like something is missing. Something's not there, y'know? Something that's important."

Slightly miffed, she asks, "Well, what do you think is missing?"

"I dunno, maybe the passion? Ally, I know you, and I know that when you write songs, they're always passionate, never dry. Instead of passion, I'm just getting a whole lot of awkward. I know we've got this big rift between us in terms of our history, but this isn't gonna work if we're going to collaborate together."

She thinks about it for a little, then nods grudgingly. "Okay, I guess I can see the reason in that. What do you think we should do to clear up that awkwardness, then?"

"Let's just hang out more. We agreed to start over, right? So from now on, it's just you and me; two friends with absolutely no past."

"Sounds good to me."

"You wanna grab coffee, then?"

"I can't, I'm actually supposed to be doing that right now with Alec, so I guess I'll see you some other time?" she offers, standing up and stretching.

He blinks, a little taken aback. "Um, yeah, okay. Sure." Standing up himself, he scratches the back of his head confusedly, half-heartedly returning her wave of farewell. What was going on with her and Alec...?

"You know the way out, right?" she checks, and at his nod, she's about to close the door behind her when she remembers something. "Hey... Weren't you like 45 minutes late today?"

Cue guilty look. "Uh... _no_. Why would you think that...?"

* * *

><p>"Hi!" chirps Ally, sitting down at a table in her favorite coffee shop ten minutes later.<p>

"Hey babe," returns Alec, kissing both of her cheeks. "How are you?" he asks, scrutinizing her carefully.

"I'm... good," she decides. "I had my first collab session with Austin today, and that went okay... it could've gone better, though, 'cause Logan called."

"_Again?_" His eyes harden. "Props to Austin for punching him out, but to be honest, I want a chance to beat up Logan, too."

Ally laughs. "You can join Austin, then. I gave him my permission to punch Logan again the next time he sees him."

"Good for you, Ally." He raises his hand to call for the waiter, then nods to Ally.

"Oh, yes. Can I have a mocha frappé, please?" she asks politely.

"Of course, I'll be right back with your drink." The waiter leaves and Ally rolls her eyes at Alec checking out his backside.

"Could you be any more obvious?" she teases.

He shrugs. "You have to admit that he's hot. And he's got impeccable manners; that should win you over."

She shakes her head amusedly. "Yeah, sure. He sounds perfect; did you get his number yet?"

He clicks his tongue. "Hmm, I'm working on it." Then his expression turns serious, and Ally straightens up for whatever he's going to say next. "So how are things going between you and Austin?"

She sighs, playing with her napkin and avoiding his eyes. "Things are good between us. We decided to start over and forget our past, but obviously it's not that easy. I played him the songs I wrote because of the break-up, and Austin being Austin, he decides to turn it into a jam session and it was just like old times..." Her eyes are wistful when she says, "He told me that he misses our jam sessions and our late-night writing sessions. I guess, if I were to be honest, I do, too."

Alec is quiet for a long time, then he finally speaks up with, "You like him, don't you?"

She jerks visibly, shocked. "_No!_ Of course not! You know of our history together, I could never fall for him, ever again!" Her response is quick, vehement, and seems almost rehearsed— all signs pointing to the fact that she does feel something for him, even if she is unwilling to admit it.

"Okay," replies Alec, and she can tell just how disbelieving he is, but she lets it slide because A) No one's ever won an argument with Alec before, not even Trish and B) She's not quite sure if she believes herself.

"Great. Now that we cleared that up—"

"But you like him as a friend, right?" cuts in Alec, still stuck on their previous strain of conversation.

She stops, contemplating it. "I can entertain the idea of us being friends again... I mean, already we've reverted back to joking around and messing around. There's always that draw, that pull to Austin, you know? It's always been there, and it hasn't faded with time, no matter how hard I try to sever that connection to him. And I know he feels it, too." She's silent for a moment, then, "I don't know how this is all going to turn out, and you know how I hate not knowing."

"Trust him," advises Alec. "Trust him and trust yourself. He's a good guy, I can tell, no matter what he's done in the past. Give the guy a chance, Ally."

"Ugh, I just don't know." She flaps her hands at him slightly distressedly. "And now he wants to hang out more— as friends, mind you— because we're so awkward with each other when we weren't before— it's his fault anyway, he's the one that left and started all this!— and oh, I don't—"

"Hey!" Alec cuts her off amusedly. "Take a breath, okay?" He chuckles as she takes deep, visible breaths, half just to annoy him, half because she really does need to breathe. He senses that the topic is too new and too easy to scar at the moment, so he smoothly switches it out with The Plan, as Trish has dubbed it. "Okay, what's going on with The Plan?" he asks, sipping his coffee (black, with a slice of lemon, Ally's slightly OCD-mind remembers). "I mean, it sounds like Austin's pretty important to you; are you sure you want to go through with it? You're going to have to hurt him, a lot."

Her eyes fire up at that. "Yes, I'm sure. He has it coming for him, anyways; too many years of having the pants in his relationships has gone to his head. I've never been one for revenge, but who says I can't try new things?"

"That's the spirit, sistah. We're going to kick some ass, aren't we?"

"Yes we are, but... what happens when he finds out that you're gay? I mean, that kind of ruins the whole plan, don't you think?"

"Right now, only my closest friends and family know. I'm coming out about it after this whole The Plan thing is over just for you, babe. Of course, then I'll have to tell my publicist so we can schedule a magazine or something for me to talk to, so we might as well delay it for as long as possible. Trevor scares me to death."

"I thought you said he was cute!"

"That was before he went all military-gung-ho on me. Now, I'm convinced that he kicks puppies and he feeds them to alligators. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he sleep-dances, which is a crime itself if you flail like he does."

* * *

><p>Later, Trish receives a text from Alec.<p>

_The Plan is still on_, it reads. _Ally's on board and so am i , obvi._

She snorts and texts back, _u just want A&A 2 get 2gether, and since u have a crackshipper's heart, u think this is the way 2 do it_

A moment later, he texts back. _Guilty as charged :P but i met this rlly hot waiter at the coffeeshop today; i got his name and #. how do u think Malex sounds as a ship name? his name's marco, btw_

At that, she laughs out loud, causing Dez to stare at her strangely. It's been an hour or two since Austin and Ally left, but they're still here, working out the kinks in the contracts, events, media, and everything they are paid to worry about. _okay, u loco frenchie_, she texts back. _i gtg, but c u l8r!_

"Who are you texting?" Dez finally asks.

"Alec, why? You jealous?" she smirks.

He scoffs. "Me? Jealous? Of Alec and you? Please. Don't think of yourself so highly." He realizes that it's the wrong thing to say a second after it's slipped out of his mouth, as the slightly charged-with-tension camaderie he was sharing with Trish earlier evaporates.

They spend the rest of the time working in stony silence, but Dez can't help but wonder what it is about Alec that makes him so appealing to both Ally and Trish.

* * *

><p>At night, the four lie in their beds, all contemplating the day's events.<p>

Trish wonders how long it'll take everyone to blow up, because while Austin and Ally obviously have the reasons for it, she and Dez have more than a few conflicts between them. She doesn't blame Austin or Ally for the grudges she and Dez hold against each other; she knows that they were too young when they started going out, and there was too much spirit and passion and tension between them that it exploded itself. Now, she tries not to think of what would happen if she and Dez rekindled their relationship; is the fire still there? More importantly, is the fire still too big for the two of them? But she's not supposed to be thinking of these things, so she rolls over, turns off the lamp, and tries to fall asleep.

Dez is, as Austin said before, a halfway-insomniac, so he doesn't get to sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning. Until then, he works. He's always working now, he thinks. No time for his camera, which saddens him, but Austin's career needs managing so he'll do the managing. He does it all in a three-room apartment; one is his bedroom, another is the kitchen, and the other is basically a hub of computers and phones and everything he needs to manage Austin's career. Dez has more than enough money to buy himself an apartment like Ally's or Austin's or Trish's, but he likes the realness of his little apartment. The building he lives in is always hovering; not quite rich and not quite poor, its residents getting along for what they can. If he was still working with his camera, this place would be perfect to take some shots at. The sunsets here are better than what you can see in a penthouse, and the children here are happy, no matter how bad their situation is. So yes, Dez likes it here. Deep down inside, though, he knows he's just making up excuses and that the only reason he likes it so much is because here, he can hide away from the whole world.

Austin lies awake with Dougie the Dolphin clutched to his chest. He doesn't know why; the stuffed animal and him bid their goodbyes when he left Miami because Ally was and still is a very sore subject. Tonight he holds it because it almost fills up the empty space in his apartment. It's a penthouse suite overlooking Los Angeles, in one of the best apartment buildings in the city. It's large and luxurious, but he hates the silence of it, so he's always blasting music through the apartment's built-in surround sound audio system. At night, however, he turns the music off and is left with the feeling that something's missing. Dougie still smells like Ally, so tonight he buries his nose in it and the emptiness almost fades away, except for the fact that he still feels something is missing— so mething or maybe someone, dare he think, that should be there on the other side of his bed.

Compared to the other three, Ally's probably the one who has the least on her mind. Of course, her mind is still swirling with thoughts of The Plan, Austin, the collab, Austin, Trish and Dez's broken relationship, and, yet again, Austin. At some level, she knows that there's probably a good reason why he left, because she does believe that he really loved her in that one year-and-a-quarter. However, at the concious level, she's still unbelievably angry at him, and she knows they're going to have to talk about it soon, or else she's going to throw a stapler at his head.

Suffice to say, that night was a very long one for everyone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: PSA; this story will probably have 10 chapters, 15 tops. If you're looking for good A&A stories, however, just go check in my favorites! Also, it would be greatly appreciated if you checked out some of my other A&A stories... *winkwinknudgenudge***

**(1) These are both songs by Taylor Swift. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is her newest single, dropped in anticipation for her new album, _Red_, coming out October 22nd. The song is catchy, thought the lyrics are quite repetitive...**

**~ Sabrina**


	5. Chapter 5

A new day is a new beginning, thinks Ally, a couple days later. So maybe this day will be better...

It starts out normally enough. She's due for a photoshoot that day, as Trish tells her in the morning. She's supposed to be at the photo studio at around 3PM, and before that, she's supposed to go out with Austin. There's no doubt in Trish or Ally's minds that there will be paparazzi, but that's not so bad when they're trying to promote the new collaboration.

"What do you plan on doing with Austin?" asks Trish.

Ally shrugs. "He only said he'd pick me up around 9, so I have no idea what he's got planned. I know you and Dez have to work today, but try and have some fun, too, yeah?"

Trish snorts. "Fun? With Dez? Hon, you've got it all wrong. With Dez, it's more like World War III every single moment. I'm fighting an uphill battle here, Ally."

"Maybe that's not so bad," muses Ally. "A passionate, emotion-charged relationship is better than a flat, dull one, isn't it?"

"Have you been reading your chick lit again?" accuses Trish, avoiding the question.

"All day every day," returns Ally dryly, but she's not letting Trish get away so easily. "Tell me, why aren't you and Dez getting back together? There's no reason not to..."

Trish lets out a deep sigh. "Is there? I know we don't have quite the same set of issues as you and Austin do, but we have issues just the same. Back when we were dating... It was great, but it always felt more like hate and frustration than love and adoration. Whatever we had between us was too large, too much to handle. Maybe we were just too young. I don't know, Ally. I can see how a relationship would work between us, now that we're older and more mature, but I can't see how it would actually happen... Even before Austin left, we had problems. Right after Austin left, I called him, in tears. I guess I sounded so devestated that he thought it was worth a plane flight down to Miami. Instead of reuniting in some emotional way like in your chick lit books, we ended up fighting. Insults, demeaning remarks, and just plain _cruel_words were thrown around carelessly, and I'm pretty sure we broke a few items." Trish's eyes darken as she remembers that night. "We said a lot of hurtful things, Ally, and I'm not sure if any of us got over that..."

"So you've got some bridges to repair," says Ally quietly.

At that, Trish blazes up. "_Me?_ Oh no, Ally, I refuse to apologize for _anything_before he does."

Ally rolls her eyes to the heavens, because this type of stubborn, mulish behavior is to be expected out of each and every one of them, but especially Trish. "I'm willing to bet he feels the same way about you," she replies calmly.

Before Trish can answer, the doorbell rings, and they both whip their heads around to it.

"It's Austin," says Ally, standing up and grabbing her shoes. She makes her way to the door, Trish trailing behind her. Opening it, she pastes a cordial smile on her face and greets, "Hi, Austin. How are you?"

"Um, good." He seems a little uncomfortable standing there, hunching his shoulders. It's been sleepless nights for the past few days, and his label is putting pressure on him to put out some new singles, fast. Added to the stress he goes through every time he meets up with Ally, and it's suffice to say that he was lying when he told her he was good.

"I'm going to leave, but don't fight; blood stains are hard to wash out of white walls," says Trish, mimicking Austin's comment from days ago.

Austin cracks an amused smile. "Will do," he replies, and then Trish is off.

"Blood stains...?" Ally turns curious eyes on him.

"Nothing. Just something I was teasing Trish and Dez about. C'mon, my car's outside." He nudges his head towards the hallway outside, and nodding, she slips on her shoes.

"Where are you taking me?" she asks in the elevator.

The smile on his face is secretive and mischevious; almost giddy. "Somewhere where nobody can bother us," he responds. The elevator doors open and he leads her to his car, not bothering to open her door since no paparazzi were around, anyways. If he did, she would probably give him a lecture on the evils of sexism.

"'Somewhere where nobody can bother us'..." quotes Ally, trailing off as she buckles her seatbelt in. Austin starts up the car and they pull out of the parking garage, and then she gasps. "Are you planning on murdering me?!"

He's so startled he jerks the wheel, and swears as he swerves to get back into the correct lane. "What?!" he exclaims, eyes wide.

"Well, I don't know, you said you'd be taking me somewhere where no one would bother us; what was I supposed to think?" cries Ally.

"That I was taking you where _paparazzi_wouldn't know to find us!"

"... oh."

"Yeah, _oh_." Austin shakes his head, exasperated as to how miscommunicated they were. "See? This is why things turned out so badly for us; we can't understand or communicate with each other," he grumbles.

Ally tightens up; why'd he have to bring that up?

He senses her shift in mood and immediately realizes his mistake. "Sorry... Too soon?"

She nods, releasing some of the tension. "Just a little bit." They're both quiet as they leave the center of the city, spreading out to the suburbs. Ally props her head up on her hand as she stares out the window. The atmosphere in the car is not uncomfortable so much as contemplative. "What do you think went wrong with us?" she asks abruptly.

He sighs heavily. "I don't know... me leaving, maybe? No, not maybe; definitely."

Ally shakes her head. "Even before that... Did we simply not understand each other? Was that it? Miscommunication? Were we too different, too alike, too much ourselves?"

Austin's face is set. "I don't know. Why can't we put that all behind us, though? Why can't we just move on?"

"Because we need to resolve it! You're not supposed to leave a fight unsolved!" She sighs again, rubbing her temples. "See? Even now, after so long, we're still on different pages."

He scoffs. "Are you kidding? More like different _libraries_."

She's silent for a moment, then, with a tone of resignation, "... That was a lame joke."

"I know," he replies, and for a moment, they're content.

But they know, just as well as anyone, that this isn't over.

Because with these two, it's _never_ over.

* * *

><p>A half hour later, they arrive in some sleepy suburb that Ally's never heard of. It's quaint and cute, a little quiet and a little shy, but it's nice nevertheless.<p>

"Where are we?" she asks, stepping out of the car and breathing in the scent of freshly mowed grass, something she never smelled in Los Angeles.

Austin makes his way to the trunk of the car, lifting it and pulling out two guitars. "A good place," is all he says, handing her the guitar. They're parked in the parking lot of a park, and smiling, he motions for her to follow him. Instead of taking the main path that leads to the park, he takes her down a tiny, secluded path. He moves quickly down it, his steps sure-footed, like he's done this many times before.

However, Ally's completely unfamiliar with this place, and isn't faring so well. "Mrfsnp," she lets out, pushing a cluster of leaves hanging from a tree away from her face.

Noticing, Austin pauses and slings his guitar over his shoulder, motioning for her to do the same with hers. "It'll help," he explains briefly

Nodding, she does as she's told. Only then does she notice the actual make and style of the guitar. "Hey... This is that guitar, isn't it? The one that you got signed by Bruno Mars for me?"

His eyes widen and he blinks, looking almost guilty. "Uh... yes," he finally admits, looking down at his shoes. "I meant to give it to you, but you know, I left and all..." Weakly, he clears his throat. "I, uh, I guess I grabbed it for you this morning without thinking... In any case, it's technically yours, so you should keep it." Uncomfortably, he shuffles his feet and Ally laughs, patting him on the shoulder.

"Relax, I'm not mad," she says lightly, swinging the guitar over her shoulder and holding her hand out. After a few beats of silence, she gives him an expectant look. "Do you want me to get lost? Or sprain my ankle? Because you know me, and I've done that before."

He rolls his eyes, taking her hand and starting to pull her along. "Yeah, I know you. Don't remind me of that time when you got lost in Disney World."

"But that was fun!" she protests.

"Not for me. I had to look for you for two hours," he shoots back.

"But in the end, I remember you having fun," she says quietly, and they both flash back.

_"Ally! Allyyyy!" Austin shook his head, exasperated. "Ally Marie Dawson, I swear to god," he grumbled, continuing his search. Somewhere to his left, he suddenly heard the tell-tale tinkle of an Ally laugh. "Ally!" Quickly, he ran over, wading through the throng of parents and their kids that were all trying to see the fireworks. "Hey!" He caught up with her, grabbing her wrist. "Where have you been?! I've been looking for the past two hours, you know!"_

_She blinked, a little taken aback. "Oh, wow, Austin, I'm so sorry! ... But look at the fireworks..."_

_Still angry, Austin jerked his head up quickly, then breathed out, "Wow..." All the anger left him immediately, and he curled an arm around Ally's waist._

_"Yeah... I got lost, but then I ran ahead so we could get the perfect spot," she explained, her tone a little reproachful. _

_"Sorry," he murmured, drawing her closer to him. "I was just worried, okay? Who knows what would have happened if—" He stopped himself abruptly, the tips of his ears turning red. _

_"What; if you, my knight in scuffed up Vans, wasn't there to protect me?" she teased, letting out a giggle as he nodded emphatically. "Somehow I doubt that I could have gotten into much trouble in Disney World," she pointed out, an amused smile curving her lips. _

_"You never know; someone could have stolen you away while I wasn't there to protect you, and then we wouldn't be able to celebrate the rest of our one-year-anniversary, now would we?" he reasoned. _

_"That'd be such a shame," remarked Ally dryly. "Seeing as how out one-year-anniversary started off with us missing the bus to Disney World, then hitch hiking all the way there with a car full of perverted college kids."_

_He groaned. "Cut me a little slack, will you?"_

_Comfortably, she smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "It's our one-year-anniversary. Why not?"_

_They settled in a comfortable silence after that, watching the fireworks bloom in the sky. "Those college kids really were a bunch of assholes," Austin said finally. _

_"One of them was eyeing me the whole entire ride," admitted Ally. _

_"What?" Austin turned to her in a flash. _

_"Hey, hey, relax. Nothing I can't handle," she assured. _

_Grumbling, he eased back into his position, lying on a blanket on the grass with her. "If I had known that was going on, I would have punched him," he said pointedly. "And then found a new ride."_

_"I don't blame you, Miss Redheaded Long Legs next to you was practically molesting you." Her tone held a note of disgust to it. _

_"Jealous?" he teased. _

_"Of _her_? Please, everyone knows Austin Moon doesn't date redheads because their hair color clashes with his," she replied sarcastically._

_"Hey, don't make fun of me! It's true, it looks bad!" he insisted, through her tinkling laugh. When her laughter died down, he continued. "But the real reason why I say that is because I don't want to break the hearts of the redheads out there. There's only one for me, and that's you. If it just so happens to be that you're a brunette, then who can blame me if I use that to my advantage, right?"_

_"Right. Sure." Her response was unconvinced, but she was touched. "That's sweet of you to say, though, so I guess I have to give you points for that."_

_"Well, how many points do I have now?" he asked curiously. _

_"I was kidding when I said I'd give you points... But now that you ask, you're probably around 0 points. Hey, don't give me that offended look! Earlier on, you were in the negatives," she informed him. _

_Ducking his head, he groaned. "Shut up," he grumbled. Raising his head back up, he said quietly, "I really am trying, you know."_

_Softly, she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I know," she whispered. "And that's why I think I love you." She held her breath, hoping that he'd respond positively. They had never said _I love you_ to each other before, and she knew she was taking a giant leap in saying it first. _

_He was speechless, but the look in his eyes spoke more than he ever could. Tenderly, he smiled. "Ally Dawson, you deserve everything in the world, and I want to give you that." Beaming, he hugged her tight. "P.S., I think I'm in love with you." The words were muffled into her shoulder, but she got the message loud and clear, and when she pulled back, her eyes were shining. _

_"This is the best day ever," she told him honestly. "Even with all the complications in the beginning, the ending was worth it all. So kiss me, Austin Moon, it's the least you can do after throwing me in a car with some perverted college kids." She grinned cheekily at him, but soon, his lips were on her own and there was no need for words anymore. _

Jerking back a little, Austin gulps. "Uh... yeah," he says uncomfortably.

Clearing her throat, Ally nods. "Yup, let's keep moving."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he starts tugging her along again, chiding himself for reacting so strongly to that memory. Ally's lost in her thoughts, too; mainly, yelling at herself for bringing up that moment. They're both wrapped up in their own little worlds, so it's with surprise that they stumble upon the small clearing.

"Oh. Yeah, this is where I wanted to take you. Uh, here we are, I guess." Austin's the first to speak up, and he does so with trepidation.

"I never knew the great Austin Moon was so fond of nature," Ally joked lightly.

He narrowed his eyes at her, sensing an insult. "Lies. I used to make you and Dez and Trish come hiking with me all the time."

Shrugging, Ally sits down in the center of the small clearing, adjusting her guitar so that it sits normally in her lap. "I'm glad Hollywood didn't change that part of you, at least," she says, and that's that because she starts tuning the guitar and he joins her on the grass.

Strumming softly, she hums along to some tune in her head, and he looks at her curiously. He quickly catches on, taking over her melody part and letting her harmonize instead. His guitar strums to a different rhythm than hers, but it works with hers, and the two combined— his guitar rhythm, her guitar rhythm, his clear tenor/pop voice, her lilting soprano/pop voice— make up something wonderful.

The wheels in her brains turn, creativity gets to flowing, and she starts to make up the lyrics as she goes along.

"_All I knew this morning when I woke_  
><em>Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before<em>," she sings, her eyes looking far-off and away. "_And all I've seen since 18 hours ago is brown eyes and dimples and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like_..."

"I just want to know you better know you better know you better now," Austin jumps in with rudimentary lyrics— basic, yes, but Ally likes them. They both need less complexity in their lives, after all.

So, she sings with him.

"_I just want to know you better know you better know you better now,_  
><em>I just want to know you better know you better know you better now,<em>  
><em>I just want to know you know you know you<em>...**(1)**" They trail off, realizing how close to the other they are. It's still, oh so still, in that little clearing, and their eyes remains locked in an almost peaceful way, and the atmosphere is... musing.

Then, a flock of birds fly over loudly, startling Ally, making her jump. Austin swallows visibly, then clears his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, okay— I liked that!" exclaims Ally hurriedly.

Quickly, Austin nods, agreeing. "Yeah, um, me, too. Do you want to finish it here and now or...?" His stomach grumbles, and she laughs.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, too. Let's go." Getting to her feet, she offers him her hand— kind of like another peace offering, he thinks.

He grabs her hand solidly, and for a moment, it's just like old times. Then Ally's guitar bangs against her back in the wind, and it's back to reality. "I know a cute little café near here, you wanna go?" he asks.

"Yeah, let's do it." And somehow, when she says it without all the distractions in the city and the bite of their past, it sounds... different. Like she wants to start something new with him, like she's ready to do something spontaneous... like she wants to start over, for real this time.

Everything really has changed.

* * *

><p>Nicole &amp; Kelly's Catfé, says the sign on the door.<p>

Austin holds it open for Ally, and with a small smile, she slips through under his arm and they find a table for two.

"'Catfé?" she questions as they sit down.

Austin shrugs. "Kelly has a cat; I dunno. It's actually quite the story. Nicole and Kelly are both sophomores in college, and this café was left to them by their grandmother. They're busy, but occasionally they stop by and help out."

Ally raises an eyebrow. "Did you flirt with either one of them?" Her tone is knowing, and he looks offended.

"No!" he exclaims loudly. Then, quieter, almost embarrassedly, "I'm a heartbreaker, Ally, and I'm pretty sure you know that, but I don't go around breaking innocent hearts. I didn't flirt with them because they were too good... they don't deserve that kind of treatment from me."

"Well then, I guess you didn't think I was innocent when you broke _my_heart." Her voice is like ice, and her expression is stony.

He's reminded again of how their past will always be there, and how it will be until they talk through it... but for the moment, he's saved by Kelly, in a waitress uniform and pen and pad at the ready.

"Hey, Austin Moon," she says, patting him on the shoulder. "Long time no see, eh?" Critically, she studies him. "You look... less blonde than usual. Did you stop bleaching your hair?"

Nicole glides over, a picture of sarcasm. "How many times do we have to go over this, Kelly? He says it bleaches itself in the sunlight, duh!"

Austin glares at them. "I see another year at college hasn't been too kind to you two."

Meanwhile, Ally sits, blinking. "Um... who are you?"

Nicole turns to her, beaming. "I'm Nicole, and I'm such a big fan!"

"Only 'cause I showed her music to you," retorts Kelly. She turns a million-watt smile on Ally. "I love your work; it's so great."

"Aww, thank you... but if you don't mind me asking, how come you're not freaking out over Austin?"

At that, Austin, Kelly, and Nicole laugh.

"Please, the first time we met, it was storming outside and this was the first dry place he could find," snorts Nicole.

"Yeah, the little asshat dragged himself in, dripping wet from the rain, and got the floor all slippery. I almost punched him," says Kelly cheerfully.

"They're not my biggest fans," finishes Austin, wincing.

Nicole ruffles his hair fondly. "Well, he's kind of like a little brother to us now... An annoying, asshole brother."

"Asshole Austin, you mean?" The look on Ally's face is completely innocent.

"Yes, exactly!" crows Kelly. "Wow, Austin, A-plus for picking a girl who wears the pants in the relationship!"

Austin's blushing crazily at this point, so he just bites out, "Can you please just get me a hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant?"

"Same here," Ally pipes up, amused.

"Mmkay, be back in a bit," they chorus, leaving the two alone.

"They're fun," comments Ally lightly.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbles Austin. "They're okay."

Ally laughs at his sulkiness, patting his hand. "Hey, it's nice to see the great Austin Moon humbled every once in a while. God knows you need it with that giant ego of yours." She sounds playful, and when he tilts his head back up to meet her eyes, his turn reproachful. She only laughs, throwing her head back, and his eyes soften.

They say first loves never fade.

Who knows where that moment could have gone, because in the next, there was a melee of paparazzi outside the glass windows of the café, cameras flashing and notepads flipping.

"What the fuck—" Austin swears, ducking under the table and pulling Ally with him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Ally sends him a disapproving look, and he gives her an apologetic look. "Sorry, knee-jerk response," he says sheepishly.

"Hey, what were you expecting? We're famous, Austin Moon; your name at least should tell you that. Of course the paparazzi are going to follow us, especially since you were driving that shiny new car of yours." Her tone is blunt, but it cuts like a knife.

"Damn it!" he swears again, crushing his hand against his forehead and kneading it. Wildly, he looks at Ally, both of them still ridiculously crouched under the table. "I didn't mean to!" he protests desperately. "I never meant to bring Hollywood, with all of its ugly lies and gossip-hungry members to a place like this! This was supposed to be a quiet place, a happy place... Now it's only going to be known as the place Austin Moon and Ally Dawson got caught."

He looks so heartbroken that she can't stop herself from reaching out and placing a hand on his cheek, turning his head towards her. "Hey, hey," she says softly. "It's going to be okay, alright? We'll figure something out."

He's still agitated, though her presence has helped some. "You don't get it though, Ally. Nicole and Kelly's Catfé is a place where I practically grew up in in the last 5 years. No one cares who I am in this café; not even in this town, and that's honestly the most fantastic thing ever. I told everyone, though, I _promised_ them I wouldn't involve Hollywood here. It wasn't supposed to be exposed to all those stupid glittering lights and now... Now it's going to know nothing but of Hollywood." He finishes his soliloquy, staring morosely at the wall beside his head.

Ally plants her hands firmly onto his shoulders. "You listen to me, and you listen well. We _will_ find out of this, and then you're going to laugh obnoxiously about ever worrying about it, deal?" She holds out a hand for him to shake, and tentatively, he shakes it.

"Okay," he agrees quietly. He looks so much like a little kid in that moment, and Ally's heart is melting. _Stop it_, she chides herself. _You're supposed to hate this kid, remember?_

But it's getting harder to remember as she watches him unfold for a quaint little place that's deep in his heart, and she's thinking about how he never really lost himself... did he?

She's saved from any further contemplation on the dangerous topic of Austin Moon when Nicole strides straight towards them, her face set in a _today-I-will-be-ending-someone's-life_ way. "Hey guys— you're under a table," she deadpans.

Austin nods, eyes wide. "Listen, I'm so sorry about this; I'll pay for anything you need and—"

"Shut up, Moon." Nicole rolls her eyes, pulling him up and out from under th table. Ally follows shortly after, and they all make their way to the kitchen of the café, with Nicole lecturing the whole time. "Don't you understand that money can't fix everything? And besides, we knew this was going to happen sooner or later, we'd just hoped it would be later and not sooner, but that's life, you know? So take a full cup and shut the full cup," she finishes.

"Ah, the wise words of Nicole," comments Kelly dryly, entering the kitchen. "Hashtag philosophies to live by," she adds on, unnecessarily. "Anyways, I locked the doors and a couple of paparazzi tried to come in through the back door, but I set Milk on them so they should be preoccupied for the next couple of minutes."

"Milk is Kelly's rabid cat," explains Austin quickly.

"She's not rabid!" snaps Kelly, swatting him upside the head.

"Milk? Oh, she's definitely rabid. Beyond a doubt," echoes a masculine voice from the hallway.

Kelly grins at Nicole. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the cat also dragged some other person in. I don't know who he is, though— I just picked the strange hobo up at a hooker corner." Her tone is disparaging, but there's real joy in her eyes as she watches Nicole's light up at the sound of that voice.

"I don't know why you're friends with her, she's a chronic liar," says that voice, the owner of it turning the corner. A relatively tall, lanky guy with brown hair falling into his eyes and a five o'clock shadow on his chin walks in, smiling warmly at everyone.

"Cezar...?" Nicole breathes out, almost unbelieving.

"Hey, babe." The guy, named Cezar, opens his arms wide, sending her that gentle smile she knows is only for her.

The next few seconds are a flurry of greetings and hugs and laughter and smiles and Nicole almost gives herself whiplash, surging forward into his arms.

"Who are they...?" Ally sounds embarrassed, but she just wants to put a name to the face that obviously makes Nicole so happy.

Austin grins fondly at the scene before him— Kelly on a barstool, laughing her ass off as Nicole berates her for not telling her about Cezar earlier, and Cezar himself just content with holding Nicole. "Cezar is Nicole's boyfriend," he explains to Ally quietly. "He's normally working on his charity stuff in Haiti, though, so they barely get to see each other."

"Awww, that's so romantic!" coos Ally.

"Yeah, I guess... But Cezar's charity is actually doing some really great work in Haiti, so we're all proud," replies Austin.

"What's it called?" asks Ally, while Kelly peers outside at the paparazzi.

"Let Me Love You... It's one of the many charities I support," Austin tacks on absentmindedly.

Ally turns a surprised look on him. "I haven't heard about it on the new!"

He shrugs. "I don't try to keep it a secret, but I don't declare it to the world, either. If people asks, I'll tell them the truth. But otherwise; it's not about me, it's about the people who are waiting on donations just to continue on for another day."

She eyes him thoughtfully. "Who knew Austin Moon actually had a heart?" she muses.

"Hey, are you Ally Dawson?" Cezar cuts in, holding a hand out for her to shake.

Smiling, she shakes it. "Yeah, and I'm guessing you're Cezar?"

"The one and only," he jokes. He scrutinizes her for a second, then beams at her and Austin. "Thank god Austin's found someone to keep him in line; that cocky little bastard."

Austin only turns a wry grin at him, still worried about the café and its current following of paparazzi. As Nicole, Kelly, and Cezar continue to catch up with each other, he pulls Ally to his side, murmuring in her ear, "We have to find a way out of here so we can draw the paparazzi away from the café, okay?"

She nods, because she sees how much this place means to him and as fun as Nicole, Kelly, and Cezar are, she knows that getting away as soon as possible will be the best thing for everyone. However, it still saddens her to leave without doing at least _something_ to pay back their wonderful kindness and hospitality. So when she has an inkling of an idea, it sparks a vein of insanity in her. "Austin!" she says excitedly, grabbing his arm.

Startled, he turns to her, expecting for her to have grabbed her coat and be ready to go. "Huh?"

"Let's face the paparazzi head-on. Let's do it, for Cezar and Kelly and Nicole! What if we just went out there in the open, and wrote the link of Cezar's charity's website on a piece of cardboard, as well as the name of this café? Think of how many people read the stuff those paparazzi put out; we could help Cezar, Nicole, and Kelly with just holding one sign!" Her words are fast and jumbled, excitement mixing them up.

Austin looks baffled at first. You don't just go out and look paparazzi in the eye, rather, you made a quick and speedy getaway in a smooth and suave manner... that was standard protocol!.. But then he saw the way her eyes were shining in hope, and how Kelly kept glancing at the door every few seconds, as if afraid it wouldn't keep the paparazzi back, and how enthusiastically Cezar talked about his charity. And immediately, he grins, taking Ally's hands in his own. "That's the best idea I've ever heard!"

Both carrying smiles of a large magnitude by now, they turn to Cezar, Kelly, and Nicole, and ask in unison. "Do you guys happen to have any cardboard and Sharpies?"

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Austin and Ally are prepped and ready to go, thin pieces of cardboard in their hands and a perfected "paparazzi-smile" plastered on their faces.<p>

"You guys really are crazy," sighs Nicole.

"Hey, it was her idea!" cries Austin defensively, pointing at Ally.

Kelly snorts. "She's trying to do a great thing. You're just afraid of balding men and orange women with notepads and cameras."

"Ooh, ouch." Cezar winces in sympathy at the insult Kelly just hurled at Austin, who has no comeback.

"Well, I really enjoyed my time here, and I'll definitely be coming back. Bye, Cezar! Bye, Kelly! Bye, Nicole!" Ally waves cheerfully, dragging Austin out the door.

The last thing they see before they confront the paparazzi is Cezar, Kelly, and Nicole's looks of gratitude.

And somehow, Austin manages to turn around first, spinning Ally out along with him.

Cameras are going crazy and the flashes are almost blinding. Paparazzi— oh, sorry, _reporters_— are shoving their microphones into their faces, and it's too loud and too crazy. Their signs say, "We found out we were being followed by paparazzi today, so why not take a picture of this sign instead of us? It's much more important, anyway. Remember that little café we were eating at? It's called Nicole & Kelly's Catfé, and you should check it out. And what about Nicole's boyfriend, Cezar? He's a part of this great charity called Let Me Love You. Visit this link to learn more, and stop stalking celebrities!"

So yeah, the signs stop the paparazzi for a little bit, but it's not too long before they're all snapping pictures and asking obnoxious questions again.

"What's the plan?" asks Austin tersely, holding his sign in between himself and the paparazzi as if it were a shield.

Ally shrugs, doing the same with her sign. "Well, I figured we'd just wing it. Make a run for it?" she offers, and he snorts, but not before grabbing her hand.

"We're gonna die," he groans melodramatically. Then, "You'd better hold on, because if I remember anything, it was that you were a slow, _slow_ runner." He smirks and she huffs indignantly.

"Excuse you, but I've been whipped into shape by my stupid personal trained," she informs him.

He cocks an eyebrow at her. "Were there any males that ever trained you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you get background checks on them, 'cause you never know who—"

"Oh my god, I'd rather run ten miles than participate in this conversation any longer. I don't know about you, but I'm just going to make a run for your car."

"Wait—! Don't leave me here _aloooooooone!_"

* * *

><p>Thirty seconds later, they're both seated in Austin's car, panting after their death run to the car.<p>

"Well... that was... fun," huffs Ally.

"Not... really," Austin chokes out, fumbling for his keys and inserting them into the engine.

"_Gogogogogogo_," prompts Ally, and the sleek little sportscar shoots off, making following the two an extreme hassle.

"I guess... It was a good thing to do," says Austin finally, after they've emerged onto the freeway. "How much you wanna bet though, that we're going to be labeled as a couple by tomorrow morning?" he asks.

Ally shrugs. "I don't gamble when I know I can't win." She cracks a smile. "But yeah. Oh god, let's see what kind of a backstory they can come up for us," she snorts.

He doesn't answer, and is just content to be driving quietly with her in a comfortable silence. But then again, he's always been more of a talkative person. "I'm supposed to do a photo shoot today for People magazine," he says, yawning.

"Wow, so am I," replies Ally, surprised. "Wait... what's yours about?"

"Something about being Hollywood's newest power-couple; I dunno. I'm probably going to be posing for pictures for the rest of the day with some stick-thin little model that I don't even know... Whatever," he sighs moodily.

She gasps. "No way! I'm doing the same exact thing!"

At that, his head whips around to her. "You don't think...?"

"Yup." Her tone and expression is grim.

"Fuck," is echoed by both of them.

"We're probably going to end up in some pretty intimate positions..." starts Austin.

"I know." Ally's reply is short and clipped.

And again, a round of "Fuck," from them both.

Austin and Ally are officially doing a photoshoot together, their first one, in fact, after five years of separation and on some leve, hatred. "Blood is hard to wash out of white walls," well, amen to that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ew ew ew ew the ENDING. Bleh.**

**Oh god, I'm so sorry about the lack of updates! As I've explained, school and extracurriculars have started, and I just have a lot to do... I promise I'll have something every month, though! Something.**

**(1) Everything Has Changed, by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. Don't even get me started on this amazing song and Taylor's amazing new album akckvmekwofjek (2) Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield did something similar to this once, only their cardboard probably contained a lot less words.**

**Uhm, okay, it's 11:45 and sleep truly is a beautiful thing, so good night!**

**From,**  
><strong>Sabrina<strong>


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